ABSTRACT
SECURE EXPLORATION:
CONCEPTUALIZATION, TYPES, AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH
SECURE ATTACHMENT, SELF-CONSTRUALS AND
OTHER SELF-RELATED VARIABLES
imamoglu, Selen
Ph.D., Department of Psychology
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Olcay imamoglu
Co-supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bengi Ö / ner-Ö / zkan
June 2005, 211 pages
The aim of the present study was to enhance understanding of secure exploration within the perspective of attachment theory and Imamoglu' / s (2003) Balanced Integration-Differentiation (BID) model. A two-dimensional model of exploration was proposed consisting of trust for self and approaching the unknown, and scales were developed to study exploration separately from attachment both as a general and a domain-specific (i.e., cognitive, relational, self-related, spatial, and time-related) orientation. A questionnaire consisting of measures concerning exploration, attachment, self-construals, and other affective-relational (i.e., positive self- and other-models, trust for self, self-satisfaction, positive future expectations, trait anxiety) and intrinsic motivational (i.e., need for exploration, need for cognition, approaching the unknown, tolerance for ambiguity, curiosity, separation-differentiation security) variables, was administered to 434 (280 female, 154 male) Turkish university students. On the basis of the results, it was concluded that, (1) trust for self and approaching the unknown represent important dimensions in understanding secure exploration and variations in insecure exploration orientations / (2) exploration orientation, like attachment, represents both a general as well as a domain-specific orientation / (3) attachment and exploration represent distinct but complementary orientations, and separation-differentiation security provides a conceptual link between the two / (4) attachment and exploration may represent the foundations of relational and individuational self orientations, respectively / (5) secure attachment and secure exploration tend to be associated with the distinct but complementary affective-relational and intrinsic motivational domains, respectively / (6) of the four types of attachment-exploration orientations formed by crossing the secure and insecure ends of each, being secure in both orientations seems to be associated with optimal psychological functioning.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12606162/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 June 2005 |
| Creators | Imamoglu, Selen |
| Contributors | Imamoglu, Olcay |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Ph.D. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | To liberate the content for public access |
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