Theoretical and Applied Economics
No. 1 / 2026 (646), Spring
AI-simulated reciprocity and the narrowing of decision options within human attachment psychological architecture
Bodislav & Associates, Romania
Dumitru Alexandru BODISLAV
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
Abstract. This paper examines how regular interaction with artificial intelligence systems that simulate reciprocal conversation may influence the cognitive structure of attachment-related decision-making. Drawing on attachment theory, behavioural economics, and social exchange theory, the study explores how AI-mediated interaction may gradually reshape the way individuals evaluate relational uncertainty, vulnerability, and commitment. The analysis identifies three structural mechanisms through which AI-simulated reciprocity may affect attachment-related decision processes: reward without vulnerability, synthetic reciprocity without agency, and the narrowing of perceived decision options. In human relationships, emotional validation and reciprocity are typically contingent upon vulnerability, negotiation, and effort, creating a probabilistic reward structure that sustains relational investment. AI systems, however, can provide immediate and consistent validation without requiring reciprocal emotional exposure or interpersonal cost. At the same time, AI interactions simulate responsiveness linguistically while lacking intentional agency or relational investment. Repeated exposure to these patterns may alter expectations regarding responsiveness, effort, and emotional regulation in human relationships. In addition, AI-generated guidance often frames relational problems through simplified and structured decision pathways, which behavioural research suggests can limit the range of alternatives cognitively considered by individuals. The paper argues that these mechanisms may collectively narrow the perceived decision space within the psychological architecture of attachment, potentially influencing how individuals interpret relational conflict, evaluate commitment, and tolerate ambiguity. The study does not claim that AI eliminates human attachment capacity; rather, it proposes that repeated exposure to structured AI interaction may recalibrate the evaluative conditions under which attachment-related decisions are formed.
Contents
From paradox to opportunity: designing a hybrid REIT Model for Romania's emerging capital market
Human development inequality within and between selected SAARC countries using Mean Log Deviation MLD
The influence of renewable energy consumption and trade openness on carbon emissions in South Africa: an augmented autoregressive distributed lag method application
The hidden side of VAT: modeling compliance and inferring collection shortfalls in Romania
The dynamic nexus between oil price fluctuations, exchange rate volatility, and economic growth: empirical evidence from Algeria
Does unemployment influence out-of-pocket health expenditures in sub-Saharan Africa countries? Evidence from the defactored instrumental variables method
From transposition to distortion: how OECD corporate governance principles were misapplied in Romanian state-owned enterprise legislation
Information transmission in the foreign exchange market: evidence from India
The evolution of green energy utilization in Romania
On the equivalence and nonequivalence of import subsidies and export subsidies
AI-simulated reciprocity and the narrowing of decision options within human attachment psychological architecture
Shockwaves abroad and the vulnerability of monetary policy: Morocco’s Central Bank response to geopolitical shocks and commodity price volatility
Impact of growth and tax on pollution in the presence of corruption
Heterogeneous effect of financial inclusion on economic complexity in developing countries
Human ethics vs. algorithmic ethics: the limits of automating moral decision-making
Migrants remittances and economic growth in Morocco: A VAR model analysis
Determinants of inflation in Romania: A VAR approach
Effect of information and communication technologies on life expectancy and under-five mortality in WAEMU countries
Application of PHH and PHE model to Investigative FDI inflows effects on CO2 emissions in developing countries (OECD & BRICS)
Internal vs external migration: comparative patterns within the EU