attachment Flashcards
1
Q
what did Maccoby find was the characeristics of attachment?
A
proximity
separation distress
pleasure when reunited
secure base behaviour: when away from attachment figure people keep contact with attachment figure
2
Q
what are the two forms of caregiver infant interactions?
A
Reciprocity
interactional synchrony
3
Q
what is Reciprocity?
A
this is when each person will respond to the other and elicit a response from them.
4
Q
how much of the time do mothers respond to a babies “alert phases”
A
2/3rds of the time (Feldman and Eidelman 2007)
5
Q
when do these alert phases become more frequent and involves close attention to each others verbal signals and expressions?
A
around 3 months old (Feldman 2007)
6
Q
does the baby take an active role?
A
yes, it seems the baby takes an active role and the caregiver and infant take turns in initiating interactions.
7
Q
what is reciprocity described as by Brazelton et al 1975?
A
a dance
8
Q
what is interactional synchrony?
A
when an infant and caregiver’s behaviour is in sync with each other.
9
Q
what did Feldman define as”“the temporal coordination of micro level social behaviour.”
A
interactional synchrony.
10
Q
what did Meltzof and Moore 1977 observe?
A
interactional synchrony as young as two weeks.
an association was seen between the expressions or gestures displayed by the adult and the actions of the baby.
11
Q
how did Meltzof and Moore observe interactional synchrony ?
A
An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures. Child’s response was observed and identified by independent observers.
12
Q
what did Isabella et al 1989 find?
A
high levels of synchrony better quality attachment.
13
Q
what did Schaffer and Emerson 1964 find?
A
Babies usually create an attachment with their mother at 7 months and form a second attachment after a view weeks or months with the father
14
Q
what did Grossman 2002 find about the role of the father in attachment?
A
the father is more important for play than the mother is. the quality of play with the infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachments.
15
Q
what did Field 1978 find?
A
that the key to attachment of the relationship is the responsiveness not the gender.
16
Q
what are the strengths of caregiver interactions
A
usually well controlled. this eamsn tatht ehre is no extraneous variables to invalidate results
17
Q
what are the weaknesses of caregiver interactions
A
Feldman points out that synchrony describes behaviours that happen at the same time, not explanation for why it is important for attachment. May not be useful as it does not tell us their purpose.
hard to know
18
Q
what are the weaknesses of the role of the father
A
Is confusing because different researchers are interested in different questions. . cannot answer the question what is the role of the father
Weakness
Maccallum and Golombok oppose Grossman’s ideas
Maccallum and Golombok 2004 found that children who grow up in same sex parent families or single parent do not develop different
This would suggest that the fathers role as a secondary attachment figure is not important
Weakness
The fact that the fathers do not become the primary caregiver could be the result of traditional gender roles. On the other hand, it could be that female hormones create hinge levels of nurturing therefore women are predisposed to be the primary attachment figure. Unclear why fathers don’t generally become primary caregivers.
19
Q
who proposed the stages of attachment
A
Schaffer and Emerson 1964
20
Q
what are the stages of attachment
A
asocial
indiscriminate
discriminate
multiple attachments
21
Q
what happens during the asocial stage of attachment?
A
Behaviour between humans and non-human objects similar
Happier in presence of humans
Sometimes show preference to familiar individuals(can tell difference between familiar and non familiar faces)
Prefer faces to non faces
Smiles at anyone
22
Q
what happens during the indiscriminate stage of attachment?
A
Recognises and prefers familiar people
Smile more at familiar faces than non familiar faces
Preference for people rather than inanimate objects
Accepts comfort from any adult
23
Q
what happens during the discriminate stage of attachment?
A
Primary attachment to one particular individual (whoever shows the most sensitivity to their signals
Shows stranger anxiety and separation
Use familiar adults as secure base
24
Q
when does each stage of attachment happen according to Schaffer and Emerson
A
asocial 0-8 weeks
indiscriminate 2-7 months
discrimnate 7-12 months
multiple stage 12 months onwards
25
what happens during the multiple attachment stage of attachment?
26
what procedure of Schaffer and Emerson's study
60 children 29 girls 31 boys
all working class from Glasgow
visited every 1 month and again at 18 months
asked about protest babies would show when separated
27
what was the findings of Schaffer and Emerson's study
25 to 35 weeks of age about 50% of babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adults. tended to be towards adult who showed the most attention
By the age of 40 weeks 80% of the babies had a specific attachment and 30% showed multiple
28
what are the strengths of Schaffer and emerson's study
An advantage of Schaffer and Emerson’s study is its research methodology. They used a naturalistic observation conducted in the child's own environment. a longitudinal study as they used 60 babies over the course of 18 months. are no demand characteristics and that there can be patterns shown . This is an advantage because they will get more valid results.
study had a large sample, including both genders. They studied 60 infants which are almost even distributed in gender. is representative of the different genders. it can be generalisable to both male and female infants. not fully representative of class
Schaffer and Emerson were able to carry out a scientific study on attachment
because they used simple, operationalised behaviours. they used the distress which the baby had shown in situations to see how attached the baby was.This is useful as it can be used as a reliable indicator for how attached the baby is because the more stress when separated the more attached
29
what were the limitations of Schaffer and Emerson's study?
It is difficult to study the asocial stage. This is because babies cannot vocalise their thoughts and feelings about objects and people. we cannot get valid results
Van Ijzendoorn found that babies reared in collectivist cultures who are raised by several caregivers form multiple attachments early on and do not need to form a single attachment first. This means that the information is culturally relative society.This is a problem because it means that it isn't a definitive theory for all societies
There is problems measuring multiple attachments. For example, a child crying or getting distressed doesn’t indicate the strength of an attachment. Children cry when their playmates leave the room too (Bowlby, 1969). This means that we cannot be sure what is being found. This is a problem because it limits the certainty of their findings
30
what was the aims of Harlow's study?
to find the purpose of attachment
31
what was the procedure of Harlow's study?
harlow gathered 16 rhesus monkeys and allocated them either to a cloth mother which didn't provide food and a mother which provided food but not comfort
the amount of time which the monkeys spent with each mother
they were also frightened to see their responses
32
what was the findings of Harlow's study
the monkeys would prefer the comfort which the cloth mother would give rather than the food and that they would stretch other the cloth mother to reach the food .
33
what was the conclusions of Harlow's study?
the conclusions of Harlow's study is that contact comfort is more vital for attachment
34
what was the strengths of Harlow's
fairly generalisable(DNA)
profound effect on understanding of infant caregiver interactions.As Harlow found that contact comfort has a greater role in forming attachment rather than food.
has practical applications. such as social workers being able to identify factors in neglect.
35
what are the weaknesses of Harlow's study
highly unethical because monkeys put in distress and as they are similar to human so distress is similar
36
what were the aims of Lorenz's study?
to find out how Goslings attach
37
what were the procedure of Lorenz's study?
Lorenz separated a group of 12 eggs into two groups one where they would see the mother first and the other were they would see the father.
38
what were the findings of Lorenz's study
the group of Goslings which saw Lorenz first attached to him and had no bond with the mother.
it was found that4 to 25 hours is the critical stage for imprinting
39
what was the conclusion of Lorenz's study?
imprinting is a type of attachment which occurs in birds. they attach to the first large moving object they see.
40
what were the strengths of Lorenz's study
highly controlled
41
what were the weaknesses of Lorenz's study
There are many differences in attachment in Mammals and birds for example mammals show more compassion to their young Inappropriate to generalise this behaviour to humans.
Some theories criticised. For example Guiton et al found that imprinting doesn’t have a permanent effect of the preferred mate of birds as chickens which imprinted to gloves eventually preferred to mate with other chicken
42
what does the learning theory of attachment believe?
the learning theory of attachment believes that attachment is based off the provision of food alone.
also that attachment is aquired and maintained due to the principles of classical and operant conditioning.
43
how does the learning theory of attachment believe attachments are formed.
they believe it is formed with the association of the the unconditioned stimuli of food and the unconditioned response of being happy with the mother. this then means that the baby will learn to associate the mother with the positive feeling of getting food.
44
how does the learning theory of attachment believe that attachment is maintained?
the learning theory of attachment believes that attachment is maintained through positive reinforcement of the baby having a positive feeling after being fed so the baby will strive to maintain the attachment. it is also maintained through the negative reinforcement.
45
what are the limitation of the learning theory of attachment?
Animal studies have provided evidence against food as a basis of attachment against
Human research also shows that feeding is not an important factors in forming attachments against
The theory ignores factors such as the quality of caregiver infant interaction in the formation fo attachment against
An alternative explanation has been suggested by SLT against
46
what does Bowlby's theory of attachment say?
that attachment is an innate evolutionary process which ensures survival
47
what does Bowlby's theory of attachment(monotropic theory) believe aids babies in forming attachments?
social releasers: these are things such as facial features or expressions which elicits an emotion in adults which makes them want to attach to the child
48
what is the critical period in Bowlby's theory attachment?
the time from 6 months to 3 years were the baby must form an attachment to allow for normal development
49
what is monotropy in Bowlby's theory of attachment?
this is primary attachment usually to the mother which is central to a child's development
50
what does Bowlby say about monotropy?
the primary bond is more important and special than the others. different from subsequent attachments.
(didn't rule out the possibility of attachment figures)
51
what principles did Bowlby propose to clarify his beliefs about monotropy?
the law of accumulated separation: the effect of the separation from the mother is adds up so the best amount of separation is none
the law of continuity:
that the more constant and predictable a child's attachment is the better quality of the attachment
52
what is the internal working model?
the internal working model is the idea that the attachment of the primary caregiver shapes all future attachment.
53
what are the limitations of Bowlby's theory of attachment?
The laws of continuity and accumulated separation suggest that the less time away from the baby the better. Burman 1994 point out that this belief sets up mothers to take blame for anything that goes wrong for the child in the future and gives excuses to restrict mother’s activities.However, prior to Bowlby's time people didn’t think the mothers role was important, and, in fact, many custody disputes were settled in the fathers favour as mothers were not seen as necessary.
Not everyone agrees with monotropy and they believe that monotropy is an over exaggeration. Schaffer and Emerson found that most babies attach to one person first, but they also found a significant minority was to be able to form multiple attachments at the same time. this lacks validity because some children don't have a stage were they have just o
54
what are the strengths of Bowlby's theory of attachment
Brazelton et al found that if the mother is unresponsive to them they will actively try to get the mothers attention by using social releasers(gives evidence for a part of the theory)
Bailey et al found that the mothers who reported poor attachments with their own parents were more likely to have children with poor attachment. (evidence for internal working model)
mother more important in predicting later life. however, this could mean that the attachment which the mother has is just stronger not different
55
what was the aim of the strange situation?
to observe attachment behaviour to assess a babies quality of attachment to their caregiver
56
what was the research method of the strange situation
it was a covert controlled observation which was done by the use of a two way mirror
57
what behaviours were used to measure attachment?
separation anxiety
stranger anxiety
proximity seeking
reunion behaviour (will be happy)
exploration and secure base behaviour(a securely attached child will explore and use their caregiver as a secure base)
58
what were the stages of the strange situation and what did they measure?
1.baby is encouraged to explore(exploration and seucre base)
2.a stranger comes in and approaches the baby (stranger anxiety)
3.caregiver leaves baby and stranger alone(separation and stranger anxiety)
4.caregiver reunites and stranger leaves (reunion behaviour and exploration/secure base )
5.caregiver leaves baby alone(separation anxiety)
6.the stranger returns(stranger anxiety)
7.the caregiver returns (reunion behaviour)
59
what types of attachment did ainsworth find?
secure
insecure avoidant
insecure resistant
60
what are the characteristics of a secure attachment?
Children happily explore but generally go back to the caregiver(proximity seeking and secure-base behaviour). Children show moderate separation and stranger anxiety. Will require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage.
61
what are the characteristics of an insecure resistant attachment?
show extreme separation and stranger anxiety
seek greater proximity and less exploration
resists comfort from caregiver once reunited
62
what are the characteristics of an insecure avoidant attachment?
will explore freely but will not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. won't have preference for caregiver attention.little effort to contact caregiver and may avoid contact
63
what are the statistics for each type of attachment?
60-75% of UK toddlers secure attachment
20-25% of UK toddlers insecure avoidant
3% of UK toddlers insecure resistant
64
what are the strengths of the strange situation?
A strength of the strange situation is that it has good inter-rater reliability. Inter-rater reliability is agreement between observers. Bick 2012 found 94% agreement between observers in one team. due to it being a controlled observation and is strandardised. This is an advantage because it gives the study validity due to researchers being in agreement
Another strength is that the strange situation has high predictive value. Kokkinos 2007 found that securely attached babies have more lasting romantic relationships and insecure-resistant is associated with the worst relationship outcomes and mental health problems. This is an advantage because it shows that it has temporal validity.
65
what are the limitations of the strange situation?
A limitation is that the strange situation is a culture bound test. For example, it was based on a westernised understanding of attachment. As a result, the test and operationalised behaviours may not be applicable to all cultures. This is problem because it cannot be generalisable because it is doesn’t take into account all cultures
A final limitation is that Ainsworth only identified 3 types of attachment. These are secure, insecure resistant and insecure avoidant. Main and Solomon 1986 pointed out that some children display atypical attachments that don’t fit any of these three types and identified a 4th type of attachment- disorganised. Children with disorganised attachment display atypical attachments that show a mix of avoidant and resistant behaviours. This is a disadvantage because it means that the study is limited and some children could’ve been wrongly classified
66
what was Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's study 1988
a meta analysis to get an idea of attachment type variations within a culture and variations between countries
32 different studies
used strange situation to find attachment type proportion in infants. 15 studies in the USA
67
what did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988 find?
proportion of securely attachment varied greatly from 75% in Great Britain to only 50% in China.
variations between the results within countries was 150% greater than between countries
68
what was Simonella's study and what did they find
was a study in Italy
found that secure attachments were 50% of infants and 36% insecurely resistant.
was higher than previously suggests that cultural changes can make great difference in the patterns of attachment
69
what was Jin et al's study and what did it find
compared attachment patterns in korea compared to other nations.
more of those who were insecurely attached were resistant than avoidant with only 1 infant being avoidant. was similar to Japan were they have similar child rearing techniques
70
what is the only type of attachment which can be applied universally
secure attachment. this is because it can be seen the norm in various cultures.
71
what are the strengths of studies into cultural variation affecting attachment patterns and the strange situation?
large sample size 2000 children analysed in Van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg's study
72
what are the limitation of studies into cultural variation affecting attachment patterns and the strange situation?
Samples tend to be unrepresentative of culture. ]
Van Ijzendorn claimed to study cultural variation. Whereas,in fact, the comparisons were between countries not cultures. poor areas may show differences to rich areas Ijzendoorn and sagi found that distributions in Tokyo and urban settings were similar to western studies. Whereas, a more rural sample had an over representation of insecure-resistant
Method of assessment is biased
The strange situation is based on American and British attachment values. Trying to apply a theory or technique designed for one culture to another culture is known as imposed etic. For example lack of separation in Germany might be seen more as independence than avoidance. This is a disadvantage because people who aren’t considered to be securely attached are seen negatively by the strange situation however it could just be different norms and values in the country
Samples tend to be unrepresentative of culture. ]
Van Ijzendorn claimed to study cultural variation. Whereas,in fact, the comparisons were between countries not cultures. One sample might over represent people living in poverty. The stress of which may affect caregiving and hence patterns of attachment. Ijzendoorn and sagi found that distributions in Tokyo and urban settings were similar to western studies. Whereas, a more rural sample had an over representation of insecure-resistant
Method of assessment is biased
The strange situation is based on American and British attachment values. Trying to apply a theory or technique designed for one culture to another culture is known as imposed etic. For example lack of separation in Germany might be seen more as independence than avoidance. This is a disadvantage because people who aren’t considered to be securely attached as negatively by the strange situation however it could just be different norms and values in the country.
Alternative explanations for cultural similarities
Bowlby’s explanation for cultural similarities as attachment is innate and universal. While Van Ijzendoorn and Kronenburg believe cultural similarities may be due to mass media and globalisation shaping values. this means that results lack temporal validity Disadvantage
The strange situation lacks validity. Kagan et al suggested that attachment type is more related to temperament than to relationship with the primary attachment figure
73
what is privation?
when an attachment is never formed.
74
what is deprivation?
the loss of, damage to an attachment.
75
what is institutionalisation?
A term for the effects of living in an institutional setting for a long period of time. In such places there is often very little emotional care provided
76
what is the background for the romanian orphan study?
Romanian president Ceacescu banned contraception, abortion and then forced women to have 5 children. later he introduced rationing which led to 100,000 children being in care by the 1990s
77
who conducted the ERA (English Romanian adoptee study)
Rutter et al
78
what was the procedure of Rutter's study?
169 Romanian orphans who were sent to Britain observed to see how much the effects of institutionalisation can be reversed. compared against a control group of British orphans.
they assessed physical,cognitive and emotional development at ages 4,6,11 and 15 years old
79
what were the findings of Rutter's Romanian orphan study?
when the orphans arrived in the UK they displayed slowed intellectual development . by 11 they displayed differential rates of attachment relating to when they were adopted.
if adopted before 6 months their IQ was found to be 102, between 6 months and 2 years it was found to be 86 and if adopted after 2 years it would be 77. still present in the children at 16 Beckett et al 2010
80
what was the conclusions of Rutter's study
if a child is adopted before 6 months they are likely to have the best chance at developing. if they weren't adopted before 6 months were likely to develop a disinhibited attachment type (symptoms: attention seeking, abnormal social behaviour and clinginess) and their IQ would be below normal levels. if they are adopted before 6 months these are likely not to occur.
81
what was Zeanah et al's bucharest early intervention project?
was a study which tested 21-31 month year olds using strange situation and also asked about unsual social behaviour (clinginesss and attention seeking ect)
had spent 90% of life on average in institutions.
was a control group of 50 who had never been in an institution
82
what were the findings of Zeanah et al's study
74% of controll group attached
only 19% of children tested were securely attached with 65% being disorganised (inhibited)
83
what are the effects of institutionalisation
mental retardation
however, like emotional development it can be recovered if the child is adopted before 6 months old
disinhibited attachment
is characterised by an equal affection shown to any adult.
84
what are the strengths of studies into the effects of institutionalisation?
real life application led to improvements in how children are cared for by institutions an example of this is by using key workers to care for ideally one person
Fewer extraneous variables than other orphan studies. this is because they can be sure that institutions are the only factor as they were put in care incredibly early
the methodology of Zeanah's bucharest study is less flawed because they used random sampling
85
what are the limitation of studies into the effects of institutionalisation?
the Romanian orphanages were not typical. they were extreme cases. so cannot be generalised to orphanages with better quality care.
Rutter's ERA study is methodologically flawed. this is because of the fact taht children weren't randomly assigned and there was not researcher intervention so parents may have adopted more desirable of the orphans.
Zeanah's Bucharest study is ethically flawed. this is because researchers shouldn't be able to determine what life the children's wil have
there has been limited time since the studies, we cannot be sure of all effects although we know about the effects of it in teens
86
what did Bowlby focus on with his theory of maternal deprivation?
the idea that the continual nurture of a mother or mother substitute is essential for the psychological development of toddlers and infants.
87
what is the difference between separation and deprivation?
1. separation is when a child is separate from their primary caregiver for a brief period of time
2. deprivation is when a child is separate from their primary caregiver with a prolonged period of time.
deprivation has longterm consequences whereas separation doesn't.
88
what are the effects of being maternally deprived?
affectionless psychopathy
depression
aggression
reduced intelligence
Delinquency
problems with later live
89
what is affectionless psychopathy?
it is inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others; prevents the person developing normal relationships. Criminals who have this cannot appreciate the feelings of victims so lack remorse.
90
what does Bowlby believe about maternal deprivation and the critical period?
If a child is separated from their mother in the absence of suitable substitute care and so deprived of her emotional care for an extended period during the critical period psychological damage was inevitable.
91
what was the 44 thieves study?
it was a study were Bowlby tried to find if there was a correlation between being maternally deprived and having affectionless psychopathy.
92
what was the procedure of the 44 thieves study?
they collected 44 teenage thieves and interviewed them to determine whether they had affectionless psychopathy.
the teenage thieves families were also interviewed to determine whether they were maternally deprived during the critical period.This then was compared with a control group of 44 non thief teenagers.
93
what was the findings of the 44 thieves study?
14 of the 44 thieves had affectionless psychopathy. 12 of which had experienced maternal deprivation.
2 of the 44 in the control group were maternally deprived and non of them were affectionless psychopaths
94
what was the conclusion of the 44 thieves study?
There is a correlation between maternal deprivation and being an affectionless psychopath.
95
what are the limitations of the 44 thieves study?
it is not generalisable- because all people were from the same area in London and were all boys. also lacks temporal validity becuase in 1930s and 1940s
IQ tests lacked reliability+validity at the time. findings found by doing interviews (social desirability bias) and were not standardised not replicable therefore lacks validity
cannot be replicated an example is Lewis which replicated the experiment with a larger sample and found no people
96
what are the strengths of Bowlby's maternal deprivation theory?
Animal studies show effects of maternal deprivation. Levy et al 2003 showed that when baby rats are separated from their mothers from as little as a day their social development is permanently affected. However, animal studies lack generalisability.
97
what are the weaknesses of Bowlby's maternal deprivation theory?
Koluchova 1976 studied Czechoslovak twins who were neglected from 19 months to 7 years and when given to a loving familiy they made a recovery. this suggests that critical period is less strict than Bowlby thouight.
Counter evidence Lewis 1954 in their sample of 500 people found that prolonged separation from the mother did not predict criminality. Opposes Bowlby’s study
used bad evidence orphans in WW2 may have been traumatised and had bad after care may have caused developmental issues rather than separation, biased 44 Thieves study as Bowlby knew what he wanted to find.
Rutter believed that Bowlby confused deprivation and privation
Rutter claimed that the severe long-term damage associated with deprivation is more likely the result of privation.
98
what did Kern's 1994 find about relationships in childhood and attachments effect?
Attachment is associated with the quality of peer relationships in Childhood. Secure infants will go on to form the best quality childhood friendships
Insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties
99
what did Smith 1998 find about attachment's effect on Bullying?
Resistant infants will be a bully
Insecure avoidant will be a victim
Secure would not be likely to be involved in Bullying
100
what was McCarthy's 1991 study?
it was a study that looked at 40 adult women who had been assessed when they were infants to establish their early attachment type
101
what was the findings of McCarthy 1991?
1if securely attached infants had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships
2 adults classed as insecure resistant had particular problems maintaining friendships
3 those classed as insecure avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships
102
what was the procedure of Hazan and Shaver's study and what was it a study of?
Study of association(correlation) which investigated the relationship between attachment and adult relationships
Procedure:
620 replies from all Americans had 3 sections: current or most important relationships, assessed general love experience and assessed attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of three statements best described their feelings
103
what were the characteristics of a securely attached persons general romantic experience
Different love experiences
Relationships are positive
Adult views of relationships
Trust other and believe in enduring love
Memories of the mother-child relationship
Positive image of mother as dependable and caring
104
what were the characteristics of a person with an insecure resistant attachment general romantic experience
Different love experiences
Preoccupied by love
Adult views of relationships
Fall in love easily but have trouble finding true love
Memories of the mother-child relationship
Conflicting memories of mother being positive and rejecting
105
what were the characteristics of an insecure avoidant persons general romantic experience
different love experiences
fearful of closeness
adult views of relationships
not durable or necessary for happiness
memories of the mother-child relationship
cold and rejecting
106
what were the findings of Hazan and Shaver's study?
56% of respondents identified as securely attached, 25% as insecure avoidant and 19% insecure resistant. Those who reported secure attachments were most likely to have good and longer lasting relationships. Those reporting insecure attachment tended to reveal jealousy and fear intimacy.
107
what are the other effects of attachment?
Bad parenting
Bailey et al 2007 looked at attachments of 99 mothers to their babies (used strange situation) and to their own mothers (using the adult attachment interview). The majority had the same attachment classification to both.
108
what are the limitations of the theory that attachment effects later relationships?
the evidence on the continuity of attachment is mixed. Opposing evidence from Zimmerman who assessed infant attachment type and adolescent attachment to parents.very little relationship between quality of infant and adolescent attachment. This suggests that attachment type doesn’t always stay the same. This is a problem because it makes the theory that attachment effects later relationships invalid.
issues of validity with most studies. For example, the use of self report methods used in most studies means that we cannot trust the reliability because there may be social desirability bias. Furthermore, the data is retrospective means that we cannot rely on the findings. This is an issue because it greatly reduces the validity of the theory.
, the studies have found an association between childhood and adult attachment not a causal link. The problem with correlational data is that there are no proof that childhood attachments cause adult attachment just a link. Another variable could affect this relationship may be background. Which would affect the findings
influence of infant attachment on future relationships is exaggerated Clarke and Clarke argue that attachment in early childhood is likely to have influence but it’s not guaranteed. This suggests that the theory puts too much emphasis on child attachment causing later attachments. This is a problem because it limits the reliabilit
109
what are the strengths of the theory that attachment effects later relationships?
A strength is that there is research support for the theory that early attachment effects later relationships. Simpson et al 1998 conducted a longitudinal study. They assessed infant attachment type at the age of 1 and later found that participants who were securely attached as infants were rated as having higher social competence as children,closer to their friends at 16 and were more expressive and emotionally attached to romantic partners in ealy adulthood. This shows that the theory is credible. This increases the validity
