Reconstructive Memory Related to Adolescent-Parent Conflict Interactions: The Influence of Attachment-Related Representations on Immediate Perceptions and Changes in Perceptions Over Time

This investigation examined the hypothesis that individuals change, over time, their perceptions of interactions with attachment figures in ways that are consistent with their attachment-related representations of those individuals. In an original and a replication study, adolescents participated in laboratory conflict discussions with each of their parents. Adolescents rated their perceptions of the interactions immediately after the conflict discussions, then again 6 weeks later. Results indicated that (a) adolescentsʹ immediate perceptions of the interactions were influenced by their attachment-related representations of their parents, and (b) adolescentsʹ perceptions, over a period of 6 weeks, shifted such that their later perceptions were more congruent with their attachment-related representations than were their immediate perceptions. Implications for the continuity of relational models and relationship patterns are discussed.