Implicit Abandonment Distress: Testing the Dynamic Link Between Schema Activation and Physiological Arousal

Psychodynamic theory has been criticized as adhering to models of psychopathology that cannot lead to testable predictions and knowledge accumulation. To address this issue, we proposed an account of an implicit memory mechanism (a schema of abandonment) and measured the activation of this latent disposition in two meaningful contexts. Two hundred undergraduates were randomly assigned to either a social rejection or a comparison (non-reject) group, which was more ambiguous in nature. Explicit/implicit schema measures and psychophysiological data were used to test the relationship between schema activation and distress. As hypothesized, only the implicit schema measure was associated with physiological arousal; however, the nature of activation ran counter to our prediction. For participants with strong implicit abandonment schema content, significant arousal occurred in the comparison (non-reject) ambiguous group rather than the social rejection group. The findings demonstrate that: (1) implicit schema processes are indeed implicated in abandonment distress, and (2) situations in which the meaning of an event is more open to interpretation are likely more relevant to how schemas work. Altogether, findings suggest that psychodynamic processes are testable and may help account for distress dynamics, such as attempts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.