Preemptive Buffering: Attachment Figure Representations Lessen the Affective Sting of Internally Generated Threats by Increasing Positive Affect

One of life's most frequently encountered stressors is internal threat, such as distressing autobiographical memories. Across six studies, we examined whether activating representations of attachment figures could preemptively buffer against the affective sting of such memory recall. Compared to neutral primes (e.g., stranger or neutral object), viewing a photograph of one's mother or romantic partner reduced negative affect following memory recall. This effect was partially mediated by spontaneously triggered positive affect. Importantly, non‐attachment‐based positive primes—a liked celebrity or positive object—also conferred such benefits, suggesting that positive affect itself is a key mechanism. A mega‐analysis confirmed the robustness of the preemptive buffering effect for attachment figures and showed that it was moderated by attachment avoidance. These findings identify a novel route by which both close relationships and positively valenced stimuli preemptively protect against internal threats, offering new insights for research on emotion regulation, attachment theory and positive psychology.