Secure Attachment Messaging (SAM) as a Learning Mechanism in a College Course

Abstract

Grounded in attachment theory, the goal of the present study was to examine whether students’ (N = 205) learning would be impacted by Secure Attachment Messaging (SAM) during lecture in a college course. Students were presented with SAM every other week as part of the regular PowerPoint slides. At the end of each class, they completed a multiple-choice quiz to assess their comprehension of the material. Their quiz responses were recorded using a student response system called Top Hat Monocle. We predicted that the SAM would enhance students’ feelings of security, irrespective of their pre-existing attachment schemas, and thereby augment learning. Our hypothesis was statistically supported in that quiz scores were higher for days SAM were used versus not used in lecture. Overall percentages from the course were also compared with three other sections of the same course in which SAM were not used. Students’ percentages from the SAM course were significantly higher than the three other sections.

Keywords

• secure attachment priming
• learning
• attachment theory
• Top Hat Monocle