Can a One-Time Subtle Attachment Security Priming Impact Outcomes in the Real World?

Omri Gillath (), Bruce S. Liese and Gery C. Karantzas
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Omri Gillath: Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Bruce S. Liese: Department of Family Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66103, USA
Gery C. Karantzas: School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Melbourne Burwood Campus, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Although research exists on the impact of security priming, the vast majority of studies have been conducted in the laboratory and used repeated prime/priming sessions. The studies described in this paper test whether attachment security priming impacts people’s sense of security and related behaviors in the real world following a single exposure to a security prime. In the first two studies, participants were indirectly exposed to either security or control cues. In Study 1 ( n = 53), exposure to security cues via posters near the entrance to the building where the study took place led to a higher sense of state security. In Study 2 ( n ~21,000), the same security primes (posters) led to a greater tendency to engage in helping behavior. In Study 3 ( n = 200), exposure to similar security primes, embedded in a self-help guide, increased people’s positive evaluations of the health guide, which is known to be related to higher adherence to treatment. The implications for day-to-day security, well-being, and health are discussed.

Keywords: attachment; security; priming; field study; helping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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