Attachment and Delayed Gratification in the Technological Age Susan G
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Seton Hall University eRepository @ Seton Hall Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs) 2013 Attachment and Delayed Gratification in the Technological Age Susan G. Pomerantz Seton Hall University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations Part of the Other Communication Commons, and the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Pomerantz, Susan G., "Attachment and Delayed Gratification in the Technological Age" (2013). Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs). 1882. https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/1882 AITACHMENT AND DELAYED GRATIFICATION IN THE TECHNOLOGICAL AGE BY SUSAN POMERANTZ Dissertation Committee Laura Palmer, Ph.D., Mentor John Smith, Ph.D. Cheryl Thompson Sard, Ph.D. Ben Beitin, Ph.D. Thomas Massarelli, Ph.D. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements ofthe Degree ofDoctor of Philosophy Seton Hall University 2013 SETON HALL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCA'rION AND HUMAN SERVICES OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIES APPROVAL. FOR SUCCESSFUL .DEFENSE . Doctoral Candidate, Susan Pomerantz, has successfully defended and made the required modifications to the text of the doctoral dissertation for the Ph.D. during this Spring Semester, 2013. l ! nT-'~LntATION COMMITTEE .......~Aerter1JeSOOeVMlNmme) Ii I I I Committee Member: I Dr, John Smith I Committee Member: I Dr. Ben Beitin I Committee Member: ~ ~ ~ Dr. Cheryl ThompStlN COI"'A Committee Member: Dr, Thomas Massarelli The mentor and any other committee members who wish to review revisions will sign and date this document only when revisions have been completed, Please return this form to the Office of Graduate Studies, where it will be placed in the candidate's·file and submit a copy with your final dissertation to be bound as page number two. ABSTRACT ATTACHMENT AND DELAYED GRATIFICATION IN THE TECHNOLOGICAL AGE Advanced modem communications technology, particularly cell phones and their increasingly popular text messaging capability, allow instant and constant contact between partners. As a result, interpersonal interactions have become imbued with an immediacy and connectedness unrelated to physical proximity. Instant access and immediate gratification, as the new norm or expectation in interpersonal interactions, are bound to have an impact on relationships as well as one's ability to exercise self-control and delay gratification. This impact was presumed to be markedly greater for individuals whose first romantic relationships were navigated with texting. This study offers an empirical examination of the relationship between romantic attachment, ability to delay gratification, self-control, and generation. Its aim is to begin to address several research questions: Is our attachment in a romantic relationship less secure as a result of 24-hour access to our partner? Is it likely that growing up with the instant gratification afforded by modem technology impairs one's ability to delay gratification and exercise self control? Are text checking and responding fair measures ofthe ability to delay gratification? Finally, do generation and romantic attachment style predict the ability to delay gratification and exercise self-control? While this study does not demonstrate causality, it does reveal that the level of attachment anxiety is higher among members of the Net Generation than their Non-Net counterparts. However, the study does not allow one to conclude that modem technology is responsible for any decrement in attachment anxiety. Neither does it mean that modem communications technology has no impact on one's ability to delay gratification or exercise self~control. Rather, this study suggests that these constructs are relatively stable and perhaps immune from environmental influences such as advanced technological communications. Additionally, while text checking appears to have a moderate negative relationship with the ability to exercise self-control, text responding is not a fair measure of one's ability to delay gratification or exercise self-control. Explanations for these findings and their implications for counseling psychology are discussed. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 1 Significance ofthe Problem ........................................................................2 Attachment Theory and Adult Romantic Attachment.. ............................. .3 Delay of Gratification .................................................................................5 Self-Control......... " .............................................................8 Research Questions and Hypotheses ............................................9 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 14 Technology and Relationships .................................................................. 15 Attachment and T exting ..................................................................... 16 Attachment Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, and Proximity Seeking 18 Attachment and Delaying Gratification .............................................20 III. METHODS ...........................................................................................................24 Participants ...............................................................................................24 Procedures.................................................................................................25 Instruments ...............................................................................................27 Research Design ..................................................................30 IV. RESULTS .............................................................................................................32 Descriptive Statistics ................................................................................32 Statistical Analyses ...................................................................................33 V. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................40 Conclusions...............................................................................................41 Attachment Anxiety and Generation ..................................................41 Delay of Gratification, Self-control, and Generation .........................42 Text Response, Text Checking, Delay of Gratification and Self-Control. .................................................................................44 Generation, Attachment Style, and Delay of Gratification.................48 Implications ..............................................................................................49 Limitations.........................................................................51 Recommendations for Future Research ....................................... 52 References.......................................................................................54 Appendix: Attachment and Delayed Gratification in the Technological Age Demographic Questionnaire ..........................................................68 LIST OF TABLES ii 1 Demographic Composition of Sample by Generation......................................32 2 Preferred Mode ofCommunication with Partner by Generation..........................33 3 Correlation Matrix ...............................................................................38 111 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Generation and Text Checking .........................................................33 iv CHAPTER I Introduction Modem communication technology offers immediate contact with nearly everyone we know at any time ofday or night. Mobile phones, with the power ofinstant global communication unbridled by temporal or geographic realities, are ubiquitous. At least 85% of American adults under 65 years old own a cell phone and 95% ofadults from 18 to 34 years old own a cell phone (Zickuhr, 2011). Moreover, 80% of all adults, and at least 94% of adults 18 to 34 use their phone to send and receive text messages (Chen, 2012; Zickuhr). Among teenagers, texting is the most common mode of social communication. The percentage of teens who communicate socially via text doubled from 2006 to 2009 while all other forms of communication, including in-person contact, instant messaging, mobile voice and social network messaging were flat during the same time period and email and landline telephone calling actually decreased (Lenhart, Ling, Campbell, & Purcell, 20 10). Eighty-eight percent of teen cell phone users are texters; and one in three teens send over one hundred text messages a day or three thousand texts a month (Lenhart et aI., 20 I 0). Not only teenagers, but also adults are adopting texting as a dominant mode of social communication. The proportion of texting adults increased from 58% to 72% in only 3 years (Lenhart, 2010). The average adult user sends and receives 20 texts a day, more than double the amount of only 8 months earlier, and 18% of adults under 24 send more than 200 messages a day or 6,000 a month. ! I 2 I I Significance of the Problem I A striking consequence ofthe rapidly growing use ofthis technology is that I I interpersonal interactions have become imbued with an immediacy and connectedness I unrelated to physical proximity. Instant access and immediate gratification have become I the norm or expectation in interpersonal interactions and