The psychological effects of the contextual activation of security-enhancing mental representations in adulthood

•A sense of attachment security is a resilience resource in times of need.•Security priming has positive effects on current mood, emotion regulation, and mental health.•Security priming has positive effects on appraisals of self and others.•Security priming has positive effects on ways of coping with trauma.•Security priming increases empathy, responsiveness, and prosocial behavior.

According to attachment theory, a sense of attachment security (confidence that others will be responsive and supportive when needed) is a resilience resource in times of need and a building block of mental health and social adjustment. In this article we review what has been learned during the last decade about the causal effects of contextually activating security-enhancing mental representations in adulthood. We begin with a brief account of attachment theory and the cognitive underpinnings of the sense of attachment security. We then review findings from laboratory studies showing that the experimental priming of mental representations of security has positive effects on emotion regulation, appraisals of self and others, mental health, and prosocial behavior.