Christopher Gerald Bresnahan

In this paper we focus on the link between attachment styles and ethical decision making. We argue that an individual’s attachment style influences his or her moral awareness, moral judgment, moral intentions, and moral behavior. Specifically, we theorize that securely attached individuals, due to higher levels of empathy towards others and abilities to cope with distress, will use higher levels of moral reasoning to make and follow through on ethical decisions. Insecurely attached individuals will use lower levels of moral reasoning to make ethical decision making, and follow through on ethical decisions at lower rates that securely attached individuals do. Specifically, anxiously attached individuals will have difficulties following through on their ethical decisions because of the distress caused by ethical decision making processes, and avoidant individuals will have difficulties following through because of lower levels of empathy towards others.