Dismissing-avoidant adults are characterized by expressing relatively low levels of attachment-related distress. However, it is unclear whether this reflects a relative absence of covert distress or an attempt to conceal overt distress. Two experiments were conducted to distinguish between these competing explanations. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed to suppress thoughts of their romantic partner abandoning them. Relative to control conditions, suppression resulted in a decrease in the accessibility of abandonment-related thoughts for dismissing-avoidant adults. Experiment 2 demonstrate that attempts to suppress the attachment system resulted in decreases in physiological arousal for dismissing-avoidant participants. These experiments indicate that dismissing adults are capable of suppressing the latent activation of their attachment system and are not simply concealing latent distress. The discussion focuses on developmental, cognitive, and social factors that may promote detachment.

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Adult Attachment Lab, University of California at Davis