PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Tara Jeanne Collins
MA-Research
January 2008

Love is a Battlefield: Passionate Love as an Amplifier of Aggression and the Moderating Role of Attachment Style

    The present research explored the effects of trait passionate lover and attachment styles on a direct behavioral measure of aggression in addition to arousal level (measured by heart rate and blood pressure), negative affect, and abuse in intimate relationships.  More passionate individuals were found to have higher arousal levels compared to less passionate individuals.  This arousal was expected to increase aggressive responding via excitation transfer.  However, there were no effects found for passionate love on aggressive responding following a provocation.  These results suggest that passionate arousal may be less susceptible to misattribution.  More passionate individuals with higher attachment anxiety were found to negotiate less during conflicts with their romantic partner.  Individuals high in attachment avoidance were more likely to psychologically aggress against their partner compared to less avoidant individuals.  These findings suggest that passionate love and attachment play a role in conflict resolution and aggression in a romantic relationship.

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