Attachment: Early attachments on future relationships

Question 1

What are the 4 studies for the AO1 of the impact of early attachments on future relationships??

Answer 1

• Kerns (1994)
• Myron-Wilson & Smith (1998)
• Gerard & Mccarthy (1999)
• Hazan & Shaver (1987)

Question 2

What did Kerns (1994) state??

Answer 2

Securely attached infants go on to form better childhood friendships than insecurely attached infants

Question 3

What did Myron-Wilson & Smith (1998) state??

Answer 3

Bullying behaviour can be determined by attachment type.
Insecure-avoidant were more likely to be bullied, insecure-resistant were more likely to be bullies

Question 4

What did Gerard & Mccarthy (1999) do??

Answer 4

Assessed infant attachment type of 40 women.
Secure = best adult & romantic relationships
Insecure-avoidant = Struggled with intimacy
Insecure-resistant = Struggled with maintaining friendships

Question 5

What did Hazan & Shaver (1987) do??

Answer 5

Analysed 620 replies to a love quiz in newspaper.
Results:
- 56% securely attached (strong, long-lasting relationships)
- 19% insecure-resistant (Problems with adult friendships)
- 25% insecure-avoidant (jealousy & fear of intimacy)

Question 6

What are the 3 types of attachment and briefly explain them??

Answer 6

• Secure (distressed when parent leaves, happy when they return, comforted)
• Insecure-avoidant (unresponsive, doesn’t care if parent leaves, slow to show positive reaction when parent returns, parent is inattentive)
• Insecure-resistant (Clingy but rejects interaction, angry when parent leaves, difficult to comfort when parent returns, parent is inconsistent)

Question 7

How is parenting impacted by early attachments??

Answer 7

Internal working model influences parenting style.
Therefore, parenting style is passed down generations

Question 8

Elaborate on the AO3 point that there’s a lack of evidence of the internal working model!

Answer 8

Zimmerman (2000)
Found that there was little evidence to support the link between infant and adolescent attachment. Not all studies support the internal working model.

Question 9

Why is passage of time a weakness of the studies for this topic?? (AO3)

Answer 9

They give interviews or questionnaires years later to assess attachment type, whereas the Strange Situation investigates attachment type during infancy.
This decreases validity

Question 10

Why is it difficult to determine the cause of quality of future relationships??

Answer 10

There could be other reasons for how later relationships are. For example, parenting style and child’s temperament should also be considered.
Individual differences