Imagining the Future or Recalling the Past: Effects on State Attachment Security Through Episodic Priming

Abstract

The current study examined whether imagining a future secure relationship can increase state attachment security to a degree comparable to recalling a secure past or current relationship. In a within-subjects design, 88 participants completed three weekly tasks: future thinking, episodic recall, and a neutral shopping control. Each session involved a brief imagery-and-writing task followed immediately by state attachment measures. Compared with the neutral control, both relational priming tasks were associated with higher state attachment security, and the future and recall tasks did not differ. Effects on attachment anxiety and avoidance were small and did not reach conventional levels of statistical significance after correction. These findings provide preliminary evidence that episodic future thinking can prime felt security in the short term, while also indicating that stronger evidence is needed before drawing conclusions about functional or intervention-related significance.