Influence of early attachment on later relationships

What does the internal working model act as?

template for future relationships - they will assume that’s what relationships are meant to be

What leads to secure attachment?

Caregiver sensitive to the needs of the child, the child shows affection to the caregiver

What leads to insecure-avoidant?

Caregiver is unresponsive to needs of the child. The child develops a lot of independence

What leads to insecure-resistant?

Caregiver is very inconsistent. The child doesn't know whether they are coming or going.

Child’s relationship in childhood: secure?

very unlikely to be involved in bullying. Establishes friendships with peers easily.

Child’s relationship in childhood: insecure-avoidant?

often seen as a ‘lone wolf’. may have few friends and be the victim of bullying

Child’s relationship in childhood: insecure-resistant?

may have lots of fall outs with friends and most likely to be a bully

Child’s relationships in adulthood: secure?

high self-esteem and forms stable and reliable romantic relationships

Child’s relationships in adulthood: insecure-avoidant?

very closed off in a relationship - doesn't show emotion, and may not have many romantic relationships

Child’s relationships in adulthood: insecure-resistant?

very jealous in relationship, worry a lot of the time that their partner will find someone else

What do internal working models also affect?

the child's ability to parent their own children

Why does the attachment type tend to be passed on through generations of a family?

People tend to base their parenting style on their internal working model

Who conducted a classic study of the association between attachment and adult relationships?

Hazan and Shaver

When did Hazan and Shaver carry out this research?

1987

Hazan and Shaver (1987): procedure - what did they use to research the topic?

a questionnaire - printed a 'love quiz' in an American local newspaper

Hazan and Shaver (1987): procedure - how many replies did they receive to analyse?

620

Hazan and Shaver (1987): procedure - what did first section assess?

respondents' current or most important relationship

Hazan and Shaver (1987): procedure - what did the second section assess?

general love experiences such as number of partners

Hazan and Shaver (1987): procedure - what did the third section assess?

attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of three statements best described their feelings

Hazan and Shaver (1987): findings - what percentage of respondents were identified as securely attached?

56%

Hazan and Shaver (1987): findings - what percentage of respondents were identified as insecure-avoidant?

25%

Hazan and Shaver (1987): findings - what percentage of respondents were identified as insecure-resistant?

19%

Hazan and Shaver (1987): findings - who were most likely to have good and longer lasting romantic experiences?

Those reporting secure attachments

Hazan and Shaver (1987): findings - who tended to reveal a fear of attachment?

the avoidant respondents

Hazan and Shaver (1987): findings - who demonstrated jealousy?

the resistant respondents

Hazan and Shaver (1987): findings - what did these findings suggest?

that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships

Weakness - P: what evidence is mixed?

evidence for continuity of attachment type is mixed

Weakness - Ev1: research that found that securely attached infants tended to form secure adult relationships?

McCarthy (1999)

Weakness - Ev2: research that found very little relationship between infant attachment type and attachment to parents during adolescence?

Zimmermann (2000)

Weakness - Ex1: what idea does this challenge?

that early attachment experiences create a stable internal working model that determines later relationships

Weakness - Ex2: If internal working models were as influential as Bowlby suggested, what would we expect to see?

a much stronger and more consistent link between infant and later attachment patterns

Weakness - Ex2: what do the mixed findings suggest about what influences attachment?

The mixed findings suggest that other factors, such as life experiences and later relationships, may also influence attachment

Weakness - L: Therefore, what does the inconsistent evidence reduce support for?

the internal working model as a complete explanation of attachment continuity

Weakness - P: issue with the supporting studies?

many studies have issues with validity

Weakness - Ev: how do most studies assess attachment to parents and later relationships?

using self-report methods such as interviews and questionnaires, often years after infancy rather than using direct observations like the Strange Situation e.g. McCarthy (1999)

Weakness - Ex1: why does this create validity problems - what may there be high levels of?

demand characteristics - social desirability bias

Weakness - Ex2: why does this create validity problems - what do many of the studies rely on?

retrospective recall of early attachment experiences, which may be distorted or inaccurate

Weakness - Ex3: due to this, what may not the data provide?

a true measure of infant attachment or its influence on later relationships

Weakness - L: Therefore, what is the impact of the validity of evidence supporting the internal working model being reduced?

making conclusions about attachment continuity less reliable

Weakness -

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