Vaverová, Vladislava (520369)

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UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK IN PRAGUE
Department of Psychology

The Effect of Infidelity in the Workplace on Life Satisfaction among Different
Attachment Styles

Master Thesis

Supervisor:

Submitted by:

Vartan Agopian, PhD.

Vladislava Vaverová

Prague, April 2021
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Declaration

I hereby declare that I wrote this thesis individually based on literature and resources stated in references section.

In Prague: 26 April 2021

Signature:

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my thesis supervisor, Dr. Vartan Agopian greatly for his support and guidance in completing this thesis with me. Words cannot express how much I owe him for his constant encouragement and motivation throughout this journey.

Special thanks to my partner and family and friends for supporting me mentally and emotionally throughout the journey in finishing this thesis.
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Abstract

This study was designed to examine the effect of infidelity in the workplace on life satisfaction among different attachment styles. Specifically, this research investigated the effects of group of people working in corporate companies and their life satisfaction and infidelity in workplace. The study also examined the significant differences of infidelity and different attachment styles. One hundred and twenty-six participants attended to fill up the questionnaires to measure the effect of infidelity with adult attachment style and life satisfaction. The goal of this research was to find out relationship, connection, and the effect of infidelity on life satisfaction. Results showed that higher scores of secure attachments will predict higher levels of life satisfaction, while higher scores of anxious attachments will predict lower levels of life satisfaction, they also confirmed that infidelity and anxious attachment style will predict lower life satisfaction. On the other hand, results did not show relationship between prediction of higher level of infidelity and lower level of life satisfaction and that life satisfaction will be lowest among those who are faithful but have unfaithful partners.

Keywords: infidelity, love affair at workplace, satisfaction with life, gender, attachment style, quality of life, attachment and infidelity, cheating experience.
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Table of Contents
1 2
Introduction............................................................................................................. 7 Literature Review ................................................................................................. 13

2.1

Infidelity.........................................................................................................1 3

2.2

Life Satisfaction and Infidelity ....................................................................2 7

Impact of Infidelity on Individuals and Relationships ..............................2 8 Attachment ....................................................................................................3 0
2.3 2.4

2.4.1 Attachment Styles ........................................................................................3 1 2.4.2 Adult Attachment Style................................................................................3 2

2.5

Workplace Romance Motives ......................................................................3 4

2.5.1 Factors Predicting the Decision to Engage in a Workplace Romance ......3 6

2.6 2.7
Conclusion .....................................................................................................3 8 Research Questions and Hypothesis ...........................................................3 8

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Methodology .......................................................................................................... 40

3.1

Research Design ............................................................................................4 0

Participants....................................................................................................4 2 Material..........................................................................................................4 4
3.2 3.3

3.3.1 Adult Attachment Scale ...............................................................................4 4 3.3.2 Satisfaction with Life Scale.........................................................................4 6

3.3.3 Perceptions of Dating Infidelity Scale ........................................................4 8

3.4

Ethics..............................................................................................................4 9

Procedure.......................................................................................................5 0 Data Analysis.................................................................................................5 1
3.5 3.6

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Results .................................................................................................................... 52

4.1

Demographic Variables ................................................................................5 2

Descriptive Statistics and Normality...........................................................5 6 Testing of Hypotheses ...................................................................................5 7
4.2 4.3

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Informed Contest Form...........................................................................................9 1

Appendix B ................................................................................................................9 3

Demographics questionnaire...................................................................................9 3

Appendix C................................................................................................................9 4

Perceptions of Dating Infidelity Scal e ....................................................................9 4

Appendix D................................................................................................................9 5

Satisfaction with Life Scale ....................................................................................9 5

Appendix E ................................................................................................................9 6

Adult Attachment Scal e ..........................................................................................9 6

Appendix F ................................................................................................................9 7

Figures ....................................................................................................................9 7
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Introduction

The issue of partner infidelity and life satisfaction is not only being addressed in the media, but more and more people are encountering this phenomenon in their daily lives. People want to be life without hurting others. However, whether it is we who have been affected by an unpleasant event, or one of our acquaintances or friends, it can be said that there is always a person in our environment who has some experience with infidelity. It is not specific to a certain group of people; infidelity affects a wide range of people.
Infidelity is not only happening today, as it might seem, but on the contrary, it has occurred since the beginning of human life. Throughout history, infidelity has been more or less tolerated. For example, the mistresses of the French kings are very well known, the most famous being the mistresses of Louis XIV or Louis XVI of the Bourbon family. The mistresses of the French kings were usually not kept secret from the public; on the contrary, it was a virtue and a highness to be the king's mistress (Cotton, 2019). Another interesting case in history was the English King Henry VIII, to whom Pope Clement VII did not allow divorce, and in response he tore England away from the Catholic Church and established his own church. There are countless stories in the history of partner infidelity, not only of celebrities but also of many ordinary people (Cotton, 2019).
The choice of the topic of this master’s thesis was born out of my experiences with infidelity in workplace. Together with life satisfaction, this is a topic that is very relevant today. I have always been very interested in interpersonal relationships, so when a partner infidelity occurred in my immediate area in the workplace, I became more interested in this issue.
In the theoretical part of my thesis, I focus on the history of infidelity and try to get closer to the possible motivations leading to partner infidelity, the types of infidelity that may occur, reasons of infidelity in the past and today as well as gender perception of
8infidelity. In my work I also try to approach forms of life satisfaction, which affect the quality of life in relation to infidelity. I also focus on attachment style during adulthood, and what infidelity evokes and causes (Kipnis, 1998).
Infidelity. This word can be something we hope we will never meet. It can be something that makes us end a relationship, something that makes us clueless, something that makes us desperate, unhappy, something that attracts us more and more, that we fight with, that has taken away our trust in our partner, in the opposite sex, in ourselves. Infidelity can be something that brings with it a storm of emotion that can break a family. It is something that encourages us to think and look inside ourselves, that forces us to look for new solutions, it is something that can be prevented to a certain extent. Infidelity is something that can no longer be taken back. It is a problem. However, infidelity can also be something we want to experience. In some cases, infidelity can help an individual realize what he has, to begin to value himself more or perhaps compensate for what he did not have in his youth. Of course, infidelity is not always right, but it can guide to a better quality of life. However, infidelity can also be the consequence of problems (Kipnis, 1998).
For the complex development of personality and quality of life, the quality of the initial relationship is of paramount importance, most often with the mother or other person who takes care of us from birth he or she is available and sensitive in gratifying basic developmental needs, especially up to three years of age. Emotional attachment is related to biological and genetic factors, social and cultural-historical context, where other relationship patterns play a role in the form of other people. These are the father, relatives, siblings, educators at all levels, as well as peers and intimate partners, but also certain groups and communities (Blatt & Levy, 2003).
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Social ties are a basic human need. If there is rejection by the relationship characters, the child is struck by the saturation of a certain basic developmental need and relationship. This is risky and threatening and it is better to avoid them defensively, to withdraw than to experience the pain of rejection. In the school environment, these may be children who have difficulty to adapt to the group either being inconspicuous or, conversely, having very expressive behaviors. These are children who often change schools, cannot find their place among people, travel to various professional institutions and usually do not have a secure emotional connection to any person in the family (Cassidy et al., 2003).
The image of family ties predestines the child's relationships and behaviors towards others throughout his life. The interaction of parents and their relationship to each other but also to the child is stored in the memory of children and creates an idea of safety and protection. It also forms an equation of how the relationship in adulthood looks like and determines what is normal for the individual (Fraley et al., 2018). Children learn this model, and, on its basis, develop an attitude of trust, security or distrust and threats in the world. The quality of secure relationships strengthens resilience, which is the ability to cope with stressful situations. It dampens the impact of traumatic experiences, promotes curiosity, initiative, trust, intimacy, increases the ability to establish important relationships, and to manage and constructively resolve conflicts, as well as emotions (Fraley et al., 2018). It also helps in development of cognitive and language skills. Current neurological research demonstrates, with the help of functional magnetic resonance, the importance of a certain emotional bond in childhood and adulthood, from which many benefits stem, such as reduction of stress, ability to provide and receive care and the reduction of pain related to neural activity (Cassidy et al., 2003). Certain binding behaviors are related to the parent's ability to mentalize - understanding the feelings and intentions in the child's behavior - and the ability to represent these mental states, which
10 brings good qualities to other relationships. The regulation of effect is associated with mentalization, which plays a crucial role in the development of the experience of self and activity (Fraley et al., 2018).
The theory of emotional attachment deals with the creation of an emotional bond between people, which determines that the development of a safe relationship between a child and a carer is the basis for the ability to maintain stable and close relationships in adulthood. The theory of emotional attachment offers itself as one of the dominant interpretive theoretical frameworks for understanding the many aspects of a partnership that affect its functioning (Hazan & Shaver, 1990). Many studies have concluded that the style of emotional attachment in adulthood is a strong predictor of satisfaction in a partnership, which is an interesting topic for the lay and professional public at a time of growing instability in partnerships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987). At the same time, partner satisfaction represents a variety of issues that can be grasped and processed from many angles. The aim of this work is to present the theory of emotional attachment in adulthood in the context of life satisfaction, satisfaction in relationships, infidelity and reasons why it occurs, and to further research the relationship between the quality of emotional attachment and perceived life satisfaction and infidelity in the workplace. Understanding infidelity from the perspective of emotional attachment can find its use in counselling and therapeutic practice (Hazan & Shaver, 1990).