attachment- influence of early attachment on later relationships

Question 1

strength- research support (4)

Answer 1

-studies have concluded that early attachment consistently predicts later attachment+attachment to own children
-strength of relationships depends on attachment type
-disorganised attachment is strongly associated with later mental disorders
-secure attachment has advantages for future development, disorganised attachments can seriously disadvantage children

Question 2

limitation- validity problems (5)

Answer 2

-early attachment is assessed retrospectively in interviews and questionnaires
-asking questions relies on honesty+accuracy of p’s- social desirability bias (self report) -cant be sure if data is accurately recalled or if theyre making up data
-hard to know if we’re assessing early attachment or adult attachment
-researcher followed 43 individuals from 1y/o. At 16 y/o attachment was assessed using adult attachment interview- no evidence of continuity
-measures of early attachment are confounded with other factors, so its meaningless

Question 3

limitation- psychic deterministic (3)

Answer 3

-suggesting childhood experiences determine future relationships+personality is deterministic
-ignores role of free will+choice
-studies suggest poor IWM= inability to form positive attachments

Question 4

limitation- confounding variables (2)

Answer 4

-studies have validity problems- associations between attachment quality+later development can bbe affected by confounding variables eg. parenting style, genetically-influenced personality
-cant be sure that early attachment affects later development, not some other factor