Hazan and Shaver (1987)

What is the Internal Working Model and what does it argue?

is a model of the expectation of behaviours and caregiving in relationships and argues that we are attracted to others who reflect our past attachment experience

Aim

To investigate if adult attraction and relationship formation is a reflection of the expectations and beliefs that people have formed about themselves and their close relationships are a result of their experience with early attachment figures

Procedure:

• Researchers devised a “love quiz” in a local newspaper and asked respondents to indicate which of the 3 patterns best described their feeling in romantic relationships

• Self selected sample of 620 people aged between 14 and 82 responded, the mean age was 36 and there were 205 males and 415 females

• Also asked participants to describe their parents parenting style using a simple adjective checklist

Research method:

self-selected sample and questionnaire

Findings

• Researchers found that 56% of respondents demonstrated what would be considered as a secure attachment style

• 25% showed an anxious-avoidant pattern

• 19% showed an anxious-ambivalent pattern

• People who were securely attached said their parents had been readily available, attentive and responsive

• People with anxious-avoidant said their parents were unresponsive, rejecting and inattentive

• People who were anxious ambivalent said their parents were anxious, only sometimes responsive and generally out of step with their needs

• Differences in adult attachment were related to beliefs about the self and others

Strengths

Big sample size

Limitations

• Self selected sample, not representative

• More females than males participated in the study

• Self reported data is not always reliable