Attachment Flashcards
What is reciprocity in caregiver-infant interactions?
The idea that the attachment/bond is reciprocal, meaning that both the primary caregiver and the baby feel the same way about each other.
What behaviors are associated with reciprocity?
- Clinginess
- Proximity seeking
- Protection for the infant
What did Fieldman & Fieldman find about caregiver responses?
Mothers usually respond to a child’s alertness around 2/3’s of the time.
Define interactional synchrony.
The temporal coordination of micro-level social behavior between caregiver and infant.
What and who did Meltzoff & Moore observe in their study and what did they find?
observed I.S in infants as young as 2 years.
They found an association between gestures/expressions displayed by adults and the actions of infants.
What study found a higher level of interactional synchrony between mothers?
Isabella et al
What is a strength of the research methods used to observe caregiver-infant interactions?
High control due to controlled observations, usually filmed, capturing fine detail therefore high in validity
children don’t change behaviours because they don’t know they’re being observed
What is a limitation of the research on caregiver-infant interactions?
Limited insight as it does not reveal the purpose of these interactions or the infant’s perspective.
How do other studies serve as contradictory research for Meltzoff and Moore?
Other studies have failed to replicate the findings of Meltzoff and Moore.
E.G. Koepke et al (1996)
What was the main goal of the Schaffer and Emerson study?
To investigate the formation of early attachments and the age at which they develop.
Who did Schaffer use to investigate formationation of early attachments and how?
60 babies from Glasgow
babies & mothers visited at home every month for the first year and at 18 months where mothers were questioned about stranger and seperation anxiety
What percentage of babies showed separation anxiety to their mother by 25-32 weeks?
50%.
By 40 weeks, how many children had specific and multiple attachments in Schaffer’s study
80% had specific attachments
30% had multiple attachments.
What are the four stages of attachment identified by Schaffer?
- Asocial stage (first few weeks)
- Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)
- Specific attachment (7 months)
- Multiple attachments (most formed after one yr)
Define the Asocial stage
baby recognising and forming bonds with carer, but similar behaviour towards human and non-human objects. Preference to familiar adults
Define Indiscriminate attachment
babies show more observable behaviour. Preference for people, recognise + prefer familiar adults. Not much separation/stranger anxiety.
Define Specific attachment
majority of babies display separation/stranger anxiety. Specific attachment formed (primary figure).
Define Multiple attachments
attachment extended towards others (secondary attachment)
What did a follow up experiment by Schaffer and Emerson find about secondary attachments?
29% had secondary attachments within a month after primary attachments formed. Most after 1 year
What is a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
Good external validity as it was carried out in families’ homes so babies unlikely to be affected by observers.
What is a problem with the asocial stage of attachment?
Important interactions may take place, but evidence is hard to interpret due to immobility of babies at that age.
What methological issues occur in Schaffer’s study
There are problems measuring multiple attachments. A baby getting distressed when someone leaves doesn’t necessarily mean they’re an attachment figure. Bowlby- this could be a playmate rather than an attachment figure.
What did Grossman’s longitudinal study focus on?
The relationship between parents’ behavior and the quality of children’s attachment into their teens.
What did Grossman find about the father’s role in attachment?
Father’s attachment was less related to the child’s attachment quality than the mother’s but the quality of fathers play was related to quality of attachment as an adolescent
What was the finding regarding the percentage of infants forming an attachment with the father by 18 months and in a study by who?
75%.
Schaffer and Emerson
What did Schaffer and Emerson say about the role of the father?
fathers may be less important attachment figures
How did Field’s research contribute to understanding the father’s role?
It showed that fathers can be primary caregivers and If fathers were primary caregiver, then they displayed higher levels of sensitive responsiveness, which helped develop the attachment
What did Field say about the role of the father
Behaviour is more important than gender of the parent
What biological explanations support the role of the father?
Maybe evolutionary adaption for women to be primary caregivers and fathers second attachment figure.
Female hormones (oestrogen) create higher nurturing levels, making women more biologically suited to be primary attachment figures.
What practical implications did studys into the role of the father have?
Research like field shows fathers can be primary caregivers - suggests maternity/paternity could be split and have no impact on child. research could help change women taking more time to rasie a kid than men.
What contradictory findings exists about the role of the father?
MacCallum et al disagree with Grossman, as they found that children growing up in fatherless households develop the same as those who do. Therefore, fathers may not play an important role in development.
How did Lorenz complete his animal study?
Randomly divided clutch of goose eggs
half were hatched with mother goose
other half were hatched in incubator, where the first moving object was Lorenz
Observed imprinting and measured attachment behaviours of the brids.
What was the main finding of Lorenz’s study on imprinting?
Chicks that imprinted on Lorenz followed him, while control group followed their mother even when the groups were mixed together.
What is a critical finding regarding the critical period in Lorenz’s study?
If imprinting doesn’t take place within the critical period, chicks will never form an attachment.
What behaviour does Lorenz’s say is directly influenced by original attachment?
Future sexual behaviour
What is an advantage of Lorenz’s study?
+Influential
Influenced theories such as Bowlby’s monotropic theory, which has been used to explain attachment.
What is an issue with Lorenz’s study with animals?
Mammalian attachment system is different from that in birds
- Mammalian mothers show more emotion and may be able to form attachments at any time, less easily in infancy. May not be appropriate to generalise Lorenz’s ideas to humans
What contradictory evidence exists against Lorenz?
Idea that attachment has permanent effect on mating behaviour may not be accurate, even in birds Guiton et al. (1966):
- chickens that imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try to mate with them as adults. However, they eventually learned to prefer mating with other chickens. Suggests impact of imprinting on mating behaviour is reversible
How did Harlow research monkeys?
Reared 16 baby monkeys with two wire “mothers”
the wire mother dispensed milk
the cloth mother did not dispense milk
Measured time spent with each mother
Observed reactions of monkeys when frightened
Which mother did the monkeys always run to when scared and what does this suggest?
Monkeys sought comfort from cloth mother when frightened
suggesting ‘contact comfort’ is more important than food in relation to attachment behaviour
What did Harlow found about the Critical period?
mother figure had to be introduced within 90 days of birth
- after this time, attachment is impossible and damage done by early deprivation becomes irreversible
What did Harlow find about maternal deprivation?
monkeys paired with wire mother were more dysfunctional (more agressive, less sociable and bred less often) than the cotton mother
What ethical issue arises from Harlow’s study on monkeys?
Monkeys suffered lasting psychological damage. Species is similar enough to humans to generalise findings, but this also means suffering is human-like.
What is a practical application for Harlows study into animals
Application to range of contexts
- social workers better understand risk factors for deprivation (neglect and abuse) and has impacted on breeding programmes for monkeys in captivity
What issue exists around studys into primates?
Psychologists disagree on extent to which studies of non-human primates can be generalised to humans. Although, monkeys are similar than geese, they have different biological make up and cognitive processes so attachment behaviours will differ.
What is key to the learning explanation of attachment?
Food
What are the two types of conditioning used in the learning explanation of attachment?
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
How does classical conditioning lead to attachments?
- the netural stimulus (caregiver) consistently paired with the unconditional stimulus (food) to which brings a unconditioned response (pleasure).
- Eventually NS paired with UCS so that the caregiver becomes a conditions response that brings about the conditioned response of pleasure, even in absence of food.
How does operant conditioning lead to attachment?
In the process of operant conditioning, caregiver rewards the baby by feeding it so the baby associates the caregiver with the reward and repeats any action that brings her close.
Food is primary reinforcer. Caregiver is secondary reinforcer as they bring the food. The presence of them removes discomfort/brings comfort
Mother negatively rienforced because feeding child removes unwanted crying and baby is positively rienforced as crying is rewarded by food.
What is a strength of the learning explanation for attachment?
There is evidence to say that many aspects of human development is affected by conditioning. The provision of comforts and association between primary caregiver and social interaction is part of what builds attachment. However, food is probably not the main factor.
What alternative explanations to learning exists for attachment
learning theory ignores evolutionary factors
Bowlby’s monotropic explanation is much more comprehensive and has more research support, and suggests that attachment behaviours are innate not learned.
What piece of contradictory research exists for the learning explanation for attachment?
Harlow’s monkeys suggested that food wasn’t the most important factor in attachment, is was comfort. This challenges the validity of the theory.
What does Bowlby’s monotropic theory suggest about attachment?
It is an evolutionary approach highlighting that attachment increases the infant’s chances of survival.
What are the 5 aspects of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?
Adaptive
Social releasers
Critical period
Monotropy
Internal working model
What is the adaptive feature of monotropic theory?
A behaviour which increases the infant’s chances of survival. A child who stays with/near the caregiver will be at less risk from predators.
What is the Social releasers feature of monotropic theory?
A social behaviour or characteristic that elicits care being given and leads to attachment. may be behavioural e.g. smiling or physical
What is the Critical period feature of monotropic theory?
A biological period of time where attachment can be developed. Outside this time such development will not be possible. This is the first 2-2 ½ years of the babies life.
What is the monotropy feature of monotropic theory?
The idea that the relationship the children has with the primary caregiver is of special significance in emotional development.
What is the internal working model according to Bowlby?
A template for future relationships that serves as a model for what relationships are like.
What is an advantage of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
The is supporting research for the existence of the IWM . Hazan and Shaver “Love Quiz”
Children who had healthier relationships with their mother had healthier romantic relationships and were less likely to divorce, where as those children with an unresponsive mother had problems in their relationships late on.
Shows the impact of early attachment in adult relationships.
What contradictory evidence exists for Bowlby’s idea of the critical period?
Rutter’s Romanian orphans study found that the critical period is more of a sensitive period. As it may be more difficult but not impossible to form an attachment if an attachment is not formed within the critical period.
What alternative explanations exist for Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
There are alternative explanations which suggest that Bowlby may have overemphasised the role of attachment. Learning theory and social learning theory suggests children learn to become attached.
describe Mary Ainsworth’s experiemt
Procedure for assessing the quality of attachment between the infant and mother. Original experiment carried out in USA with 100 middle class mothers and their infants.
What did Ainsworth intend to measure?
Measure separation anxiety, reunion behaviour, stranger anxiety and exploration behaviour. .
What type of experiment did Ainsworth carry out?
Controlled observation with child and caregiver in a playroom, observed through two way mirror.
What are the stages of the strange situation?
Child and caregiver enter unfamiliar playroom (testing)
Child is encouraged to explore (exploration and secure base)
Stranger enters, tries to interact (stranger anxiety)
Caregiver leaves child and stranger together (separation and stranger anxiety)
Caregiver returns, stranger leaves (reunion behaviour, exploration and secure base)
Caregiver leaves child alone (separation anxiety)
Stranger returns (stranger anxiety)
Caregiver returns (reunion behaviour)
What did Ainsworth find?
Ainsworth identified 3 types of attachment, which she stated formed because of the way their mother treated them (the caregiver hypothesis)
What are the three types of attachment identified by Ainsworth?
- Secure attachment
- Insecure-avoidant attachment
- Insecure-resistant attachment
How does the rates of different attachment style’s compare in the UK and US
Secure attachment (66% original study in USA; 60-75% in UK)
Insecure-avoidant attachment (22% in original study in USA; 20-25% in UK)
Insecure-resistant attachment (12% in original study in USA; around 3% in UK)
How did type B react to different conditions?
- Sep anx: distressed, eventually calms
- Str anx:: avoidant when alone, friendly when with mother
- Re beh: easily comforted when mother returns
- Exp: will use mother as safe base to explore environment
How did type A react to different conditions?
- Sep anx: no sign of distress
- Str anx: plays normally when stranger is present
- Re beh: shows little interest when mother returns
- Exp: comfortable exploring environment, does not use mother as secure base.
How did type C react to different conditions?
- Sep anx: intense distress, cannot be soothed
- Str anx: avoids and shows fear of stranger
- Re beh: resists contact, may push away
- Exp: cries more, explores less.
What is an advantage of the strange situation?
Due to the controlled nature of the observation, it is easy to replicate and has become a method use frequently to assess quality of attachment. It has been used to assess attachment over time and in a variety of different cultures e.g. Van Ijzendoorn completed a meta-analysis of 32 different studies.
Reliability over time is also high. Main, Kaplan and Cassidy (1985): They tested babies at 18 months and then retested them at 6 years of age. They found that 100% of the secure babies were still classified as secure and 75% of the avoidant babies were still under the same classification.
What is a limitation of the Strange Situation regarding population validity?
The original experiment used middle class, American children and mothers so cannot be generalised. Class bias as cannot be generalised to the whole population as different classes raise children differently (e.g. upper class may have nannies). Gender biased as cannot be generalised to fathers who are primary caregivers. Culture bias as original experiment only focused on American mothers (but has since been replicated in other cultures).
What ethical issues arise from the strange situation?
Child is put under deliberate stress in the form of separation and stranger anxiety (protection from psychological harm), particularly if they are insecure resistant. Ainsworth argued that the distress children felt was justified as it is normal for children to face brief separation from their mother.
The mother may also suffer distress if her child is found to be insecurely attached.
What did Van Ijzendoorn do?
Meta-analysis of the Strange Situation and combined the findings of 32 other Strange Situation studies from a variety of different countries- observing almost 2000 children.
What did Ijzendoorn find?
Secure attachment was most common attachment type but the proportion varied e.g. 75% in Britain & 50% in China
Insecure-avoidant attachment was highest in Germany (where children are raised to be independent).
Insecure resistant was highest in Japan (where children were often always close to their mother) and Israel
What did Ijzendoorn conclude and what idea did they support?
They concluded that secure attachment most common, which supports Bowlby’s idea that attachment is innate and universal. Also, they reported differences between countries were small but they bigger within cultures (sub cultural differences)
What other research exist into cultural variations of attachment?
Korean study conducted by Jin who assessed 87 childrenusing the SS. Found babies were ‘secure’. However most of the children who were classified as insecurely attached were resistant) with only 1 child being avoidant. This was similar to Van Is findings in Japan- possibly due to similar child rearing techniques.
What advantage does cultural variations into attachment have?
Van Ijzendorrn and Kroonenberg used nearly 2000 babies and their parents. The wider sample of participants increases internal validity by reducing the impact of anomalous results, making it more generalizable, so we can draw more accurate conclusions about attachment style.
What issues do cultural variations in attachment face around imposed etic?
The strange situation was designed by an American based on a British theory. Therefore applying a theory or technique designed for one culture may not be appropriate or a suitable measure of attachment for all cultures. E.g. Lack of pleasure on reunion indicates an insecure attachment according to the Strange Situation. However in Germany this may signify independence as opposed to avoidance
What issues does cultural variations in attachment face in terms of cultural bias?
Very few of the cultures study in VIs study were from collectivist cultures15 of the 32 were still in the US. Only five of the 32 were carried out in collectivist cultures.
Research has suggested that differences in attachment within a culture are far greater than those found between cultures. Within a culture there are many sub-cultures, all with their own way of rearing children. These may be ethnically or racially based but also may be class specific, for example in the UK the so called ‘middle classes’ may have different child-rearing techniques to the ‘working classes.’ The upper classes traditionally have left child rearing to nannies! Therefore, sub cultures may be more important than cultural differences
What does Bowlby say about the critical period in terms of maternal deprivation?
part of the maternal deprivation hypothesis. First 30 months (2 ½ years) are the critical period. If child is absent of a mother (without a suitable substitute carer) for an extended period of time during critical period, psychological damage is inevitable
What effects of maternal deprivation did Bowbly observe?
Effects on intellectual development: Possibility of low IQ
Effects on emotional development: affectionless psychopathy, inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others.
Describe Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
Case studies completed on backgrounds of 44 adolescents who were referred to the clinic (where Bowlby worked) because they had been stealing. There was a control group of 44 emotionally disturbed adolescents who didn’t steal.
What was the findings of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?
17 of the thieves had experienced frequents separations from mother before the age of 2, compared to 2 in the control group. 14 thieves were diagnosed as ‘affectionless psychopaths’. 12 of these 14 experienced separation from mothers. They concluded that long-term separation of child from main caregiver early in life can have very harmful consequences
What is an advantage around Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?
Goldfarb 1947 supports the impact of deprivation on intellectual development. They found significantly lower IQ scores (score of 96-98) in children who had remained in institutions opposed to those who were fostered. This supports the effects of intellectual development
What two pieces of contradictory findings exists for Bowbly’s theory of maternal deprivation?
Hilda Lewis replicated the 44 Thieves study on 500 people but found contradicting results. She found early prolonged separation did not predict criminality or difficulty forming close relationships. This suggests that there may have been other factors which caused the problems instead.
Rutter’s Romanian orphans study suggests that attachments can be formed out of the critical period, this is just more difficult to do. Therefore, may it is a sensitive period as opposed to a critical period
What is the most common attachment type found in various studies?
Secure attachment
The proportion varies by country, e.g., 75% in Britain and 50% in China.
Which country has the highest rate of insecure-avoidant attachment?
Germany
This is attributed to cultural practices that promote independence.
Where was the highest rate of insecure-resistant attachment found?
Japan
Similar patterns were noted in other studies.
What does Bowlby’s idea suggest about attachment?
Attachment is innate and universal
Supported by findings showing secure attachment as the most common type.
What did Jin’s study on Korean children conclude regarding attachment?
Most children were secure; majority of insecurities were resistant
Similar to findings in Japan, possibly due to child-rearing techniques.
What is a representative sample in research?
A sample that accurately reflects the larger population
Van Ijzendorn and Kroonenberg used nearly 2000 babies, increasing internal validity.
What is an imposed etic in cultural psychology?
Applying a theory designed in one culture to another
The Strange Situation may not accurately measure attachment across cultures.
How many of the cultures studied in Van Ijzendorn’s research were from collectivist cultures?
5 out of 32
This highlights cultural bias in the study.
According to research, where are differences in attachment greater?
Within cultures rather than between cultures
Sub-cultural differences can be significant.
What is the critical period in Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis?
First 30 months of life
Extended absence from a mother during this time can lead to psychological damage.
What are the effects of maternal deprivation on intellectual development?
Possibility of low IQ
This is linked to Bowlby’s theory.
True or False: Harlow’s study suggested that food is the primary factor in attachment.
False.
What psychological condition may result from maternal deprivation?
Affectionless psychopathy
Characterized by inability to experience guilt or strong emotions for others.
What was the main finding of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?
Long-term separation from caregivers can have harmful consequences
17 thieves experienced frequent separations before age 2.
What did Goldfarb’s 1947 research support?
The impact of deprivation on intellectual development
Found lower IQ scores in children who remained in institutions.
What did Hilda Lewis’s replication of the 44 thieves study find?
Early prolonged separation did not predict criminality
Suggests other factors may influence outcomes.
What does Rutter’s Romanian orphans study suggest about attachment?
Attachments can form outside the critical period
Indicates a sensitive period rather than a strict critical one.
What was the focus of Rutter’s Romanian study?
To test recovery rates of Romanian orphans adopted in Britain
Assessed physical, cognitive, and emotional development.
What was the mean IQ of children adopted before 6 months in Rutter’s study?
102
This IQ level was significantly higher compared to those adopted after 6 months.
What percentage of the control group in the Bucharest Early Intervention project was securely attached?
74%
Only 19% of the institutionalized children were securely attached.
What is a longitudinal study?
A study that follows the same individuals over a long period
Allows for observation of changes over time.
What real-world application arose from the Romanian orphan studies?
Introduction of key workers in institutions
Aimed at improving attachment development in children.
What is the internal working model according to Bowlby?
Children use their first attachment as a template for future relationships
Secure attachments lead to stronger future relationships.
What did Hazan and Shaver’s ‘love quiz’ aim to investigate?
Correlation between infant attachment type and adult romantic relationships
Analyzed responses from 620 participants aged 14-83.
What correlation did Hazan and Shaver find?
Strong correlation between infant attachment types and adult love styles
Securely attached children tended to have stable adult relationships.
What did Judith Feeney and Patricia Noller find in their study?
Securely attached individuals had the most enduring romantic relationships
This supports the internal working model.
What is a deterministic view in attachment theory?
Early childhood experiences have a fixed effect on later relationships
Some individuals succeed in forming good relationships despite poor early attachments.
What methodological issue is present in attachment studies?
Cannot establish cause and effect
Third factors like temperament may influence relationships.
What was the focus of Rutter’s Romanian orphan study?
Rutter’s study focused on testing how good care could compensate for poor early experiences in institutions, by following Romanian orphans adopted in Britain.
How many Romanian orphans were followed in Rutter’s study, and what was the control group?
165 Romanian orphans were followed, and the control group consisted of 52 British children adopted at similar times.
What age groups did Rutter assess in his study, and what areas of development were assessed?
Rutter assessed the children at ages 4, 6, 11, and 15. He looked at their physical, cognitive, and emotional development.
What did Rutter’s study find about recovery rates at age 11?
The study found a variation in recovery rates, which were related to the age of adoption, with children adopted before 6 months showing higher IQs than those adopted later.
What were the IQs at different ages of adoption in Rutter’s study?
Adopted before 6 months: Mean IQ of 102
Adopted between 6 months and 2 years: Mean IQ of 86
Adopted after 2 years: Mean IQ of 71
These differences remained at age 16.
What did Rutter’s study find about disinhibited attachment?
Children adopted after 6 months were more likely to show disinhibited attachment, which includes clinginess and attention-seeking behavior.
What was the focus of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project?
The project focused on comparing institutionalized children with those who were never institutionalized, examining attachment types and behavioral characteristics.
How many children were involved in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, and what were the groups?
The project involved 95 children (experimental group, aged 12-31 months, most of whom were in institutional care) and 50 children in the control group (never in institutional care).
What were the attachment findings in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project?
74% of the control group were securely attached, while only 19% of the institutionalized group were securely attached. 65% of the institutionalized group showed disorganized attachment.
How was disinhibited attachment observed in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project?
44% of the institutionalized children showed disinhibited attachment, compared to 20% of the control group.
What methological advantages exist with research into romanian orphanages?
As this was a longitudinal study it therefore allows for the researcher to follow the same people over a long period of time allowing for changes to be observed in how institutionalisation has impacted the children’s attachment. This research has shown that some of the effects of institutionalisation may disappear later in life. Therefore we gain a deeper understanding of the long term effects on institutionalisation.
What issue exists with study’s into romanian orphanages?
This research may lack population validity, this is because as the conditions in the orphanages of Romania were so bad it mean that the results found may not be able to compare to other institutionalised children around the world as they may have not been through the same procedures and environments as those of Romania’s’ orphanages. For example, in the UK institutions have higher standards of care.
What real world application exists for studies into romanian orphanage?
This also has real life application as this helped to further understand the impact of institutionalisation and how they could be prevented. Due to this institutions began to introduce key workers, so that children have more constant caregivers and are therefore more likely to develop better attachments.
What is the concept of the ‘internal working model’ in attachment theory?
Bowlby suggests that children use their first attachment with a primary caregiver as a template for future relationships. Securely attached children are expected to develop stronger relationships later in life than insecurely attached children.
What was the aim of Hazan and Shaver’s study?
Their aim was to see if there is a correlation between an infant’s attachment type and their future approach to romantic relationships.
How did Hazan and Shaver conduct their study?
They advertised a questionnaire called the ‘love quiz’ in a local US newspaper and analyzed the first 620 responses. The sample was aged 14-83, and the questionnaire assessed childhood attachment style and adult experiences of love.
What did Hazan and Shaver find about the relationship between infant attachment types and adult romantic love?
They found a strong correlation between infant attachment types and adult romantic love styles.
How did securely attached children behave in their adult romantic relationships, according to Hazan and Shaver?
Those who had a secure attachment as children tended to have secure, stable romantic relationships in adulthood.
How did insecure-avoidant individuals behave in their adult relationships, according to Hazan and Shaver?
Insecure-avoidant individuals had a fear of intimacy, and their partners often described them as cold in adult relationships.
How did insecure-resistant individuals behave in their adult relationships, according to Hazan and Shaver?
Insecure-resistant individuals were often obsessive, emotional, and jealous in their adult romantic relationships.
What did Hazan and Shaver conclude about securely attached children and their adult relationships?
Securely attached children also had more enduring and stable adult relationships.
What futher research support exists to support the internal working model?
Judith Feeney and Patricia Noller (1990) carried out a similar study to see if there was a relationship between an infant’s attachment type and their romantic love styles.
They found that securely attached individuals had the most long term enduring romantic relationships. This increases the validity and reliability.
What is an issue with the IWM being determinstic?
Research indicates that early childhood experiences have a fixed effect on later relationships. There have been many cases where participants have experienced happy adult relationships despite having not been securely attached infants e.g. Simpson et al found those with poor childhood relationships were able to have happy, enduring adult relationships
What methological issues exist with research into the influence of early attachment on children and adult relationships?
Research has found a relationship, but cannot establish causes and effect, there may be a third factor e.g. temperament that means that children have difficult relationships with parents AND difficult relationships as adults.
