Attachment- Influence of early attachment on later relationships Flashcards
Childhood relationships -
Affiliations with other people in childhood, including friends and classmates, and with adults such as teachers.
Adult relationships -
Those relationships the child goes on to have later in life as an adult. These include friendships and working relationships but most critically relationships with romantic partners and the person’s own children.
Internal working models -
The mental representations we all carry with us of our attachment to our primary caregiver. They are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception of what relationships are like.
What is the internal working model according to Bowlby?
The internal working model is a mental representation of a child’s first relationship with their primary attachment figure, serving as a template for future relationships.
How does the quality of the first attachment influence future relationships?
A secure first attachment leads to functional relationships, while an insecure attachment can result in difficulties forming relationships or displaying inappropriate behaviors (e.g., type A or C behaviors).
How is attachment type related to peer relationships in childhood?
Securely attached children tend to form the best quality friendships, while insecurely attached children often experience friendship difficulties, with insecure-avoidant children more likely to be victims of bullying and insecure-resistant children more likely to be bullies.
What did McCarthy (1999) find about attachment and adult relationships?
Securely attached infants had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships, while insecure-resistant adults struggled with friendships, and insecure-avoidant adults had difficulties with intimacy in romantic relationships.
What was the procedure of Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) study on attachment and romantic relationships?
They analyzed 620 responses to a “love quiz” in a newspaper, assessing current relationships, general love experiences, and attachment type through self-reported statements.
What were the findings of Hazan and Shaver’s study?
56% were securely attached, 25% insecure-avoidant, and 19% insecure-resistant. Securely attached individuals had better, longer-lasting romantic relationships, while avoidant individuals showed jealousy and fear of intimacy.
How does the internal working model affect parenting?
People tend to parent based on their internal working model, leading to the intergenerational transmission of attachment styles, as seen in Bailey et al.’s (2007) study.
What is mixed evidence regarding the continuity of attachment type?
Some studies, like McCarthy’s, support continuity between infant and later attachment types, while others, like Zimmerman’s (2000), show little relationship between infant and adolescent attachment.
What are the validity issues in studies of internal working models?
Many studies rely on self-report methods (e.g., interviews, questionnaires) to assess attachment, which may lack validity due to reliance on honesty, accurate recollections, and retrospective assessments.
Why does association not imply causality in attachment research?
While infant attachment type may be associated with later relationships, alternative explanations (e.g., parenting style or temperament) could influence both attachment and relationship quality, challenging Bowlby’s view of causality.
What is the theoretical problem with self-report measures of internal working models?
Internal working models are unconscious, so self-report measures, which rely on conscious awareness, may only provide indirect evidence about these models.
What does it mean that the influence of early attachment is probabilistic?
Early attachment influences later relationships probabilistically, meaning individuals with insecure attachments are at greater risk of relationship difficulties but are not doomed to always have poor relationships.
What are the advantages of using self-report measures of internal working models?
Self-report measures are practical, easy to administer, and provide direct insights into individuals’ perceptions of their relationships, despite limitations in capturing unconscious processes.
How does the internal working model explain intergenerational attachment patterns?
Parents tend to replicate their own attachment experiences in their parenting style, leading to the transmission of attachment patterns across generations, as demonstrated in Bailey et al.’s (2007) study.
What did Rowan Myron-Wilson and Peter Smith (1998) find about attachment and bullying?
Securely attached children were unlikely to be involved in bullying, insecure-avoidant children were more likely to be victims, and insecure-resistant children were more likely to be bullies.
What is the significance of Hazan and Shaver’s findings for understanding adult relationships?
Their findings suggest that early attachment patterns influence adult romantic relationships, with securely attached individuals experiencing more positive and lasting relationships.
What are the limitations of retrospective assessments in attachment research?
Retrospective assessments rely on accurate recollections of early relationships, which may be unreliable or biased, reducing the validity of findings.
How does the concept of probabilistic influence affect our understanding of attachment?
It acknowledges that early attachment influences later relationships but emphasizes that individuals are not predetermined to have poor relationships, offering a more nuanced view of attachment’s impact.
What are the implications of Zimmerman’s (2000) findings for Bowlby’s theory?
Zimmerman’s findings challenge the continuity hypothesis by showing little relationship between infant and adolescent attachment, suggesting other factors may influence relationship development.
What are the broader implications of internal working models for relationship research?
Internal working models provide a framework for understanding how early attachment influences later relationships, but research must address validity issues and consider alternative explanations for continuity.
