12 - The Influence of Early Attachment on Adult Relationships Flashcards
How was the influence of early attachment on adult relationships studied?
Hazan and Shaver placed a love quiz in a newspaper.
The quiz asked questions about their attachment history ( to identify infant attachment style ) and about their current attachment experiences ( to determine their current attachment style ).
It also asked about attitudes to love to assess participants’ internal working model for relationships.
They analysed 620 responses, 205 from men and 415 from women.
What did they find?
They found that the prevalence of adult attachment styles were similar to those found in infancy. 56% were secure, 25% were insecure - avoidant and 19% insecure- resistant. This suggests that most people’s early attachment styles are the same as their adult attachment style.
They also found a positive correlation between adult attachment style and love experiences. Securely attached adults described their love experiences as happy, friendly and trusting.
They emphasised being able to accept and support their partner despite faults. These relationships were most enduring - 10 years on average compared to 5 and 6 years got resistant and avoidant partners respectively.
They found a relationship between attitudes to love ( internal working model ) and attachment style - securely attached individuals tended to have a positive internal working model.
What are the negatives of this study?
It is unreliable as several other studies have failed to find the string correlation between infant attachment style and adult relationships. A review was conducted of 27 samples where infants were assessed in infancy and later reassessed ( ranging from one month to 20 years later). He found correlations ranging from .5 to as low as .1
The research is correlational rather than experimental and therefore we cannot determine cause and effect. It is impossible to say that early attachments determine adult relationships. It could be that there is a third variable that affects both, such as a persons innate temperament.
It relies on participants’ memories about their early lives in order to assess their early attachment style. Such memories are likely to be flawed because out memory of the past are not always accurate.
