The Association Between Attachment Style and Decision Making Style

Existing work identifies decision making styles as individual differences in approaching and executing decision making, but the underlying mechanisms of decision making styles is unclear. Attachment style characterizes the way that people interact with caregivers and close relationship partners in regard to their met or unmet needs for proximity and security. Given that both decision making style and attachment style rely on overlapping cognitive and emotional processes, attachment theory appears to be a viable framework within which to view decision making style. In the current study, participants were surveyed regarding their ​personality, attitudes, and decision making. These responses were formed into scores for rational, dependent, intuitive, avoidant, and spontaneous decision making styles as well as scores for anxious and avoidant attachment styles. Additionally, responses were formed into scores for self-efficacy and self-reliance. Results showed a positive correlation between dependent decision making style and anxious attachment style, which was not mediated by self-efficacy as originally expected. There was a positive correlation between avoidant decision making style and avoidant attachment style, which, consistent with expectations, was partially mediated by self-reliance. These findings build upon the existing groundwork for considering decision making style with an attachment lens.