attachment: influences of early attachment on later relationships Flashcards
define the internal working model.
a mental representation of our relationship with our primary caregiver that becomes a template for future relationships
how does the internal working model impact future relationships?
it guides the individual’s expectations about relationships throughout life, subsequently influencing social behavior, perception of others and development of self-esteem
what research did Myron-Wilson + Smith (1998) conduct into attachment type and bullying?
used a questionnaire of 196 children aged 7-11 from London to assess how attachment type affects peer relationships in childhood, found insecure avoidant most likely to be bullies, resistant most likely to be bullied and securely attached most likely to not be involved
what three things did Hazan + Shaver (1987) measure in their love quiz?
- assessed respondents current/most significant relationships
- general love experiences
- assessed attachment type by responding to 1 out of 3 statements
what did Hazan + Shaver (1987) find about the influence of early attachment on later relationships?
out of 620 replies, 56% were secure, 25% were avoidant, 19% resistant.
securely attached believe love is enduring, trust their partner and are less likely to get divorced whereas insecurely attached believe love is rare, fell out of love fast and are more likely to be divorced
what research did McCarthy conduct and find about adult relationships + friendships?
studied 40 adult women who had been assessed for attachment type as children, found securely attached = best relationships, resistant = big problem maintaining friendships and avoidant = struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships
what did Bailey (2007) find about mother + infant attachment type?
assessed 99 mothers and infants using strange situation and interviews, found majority of mothers had some form of attachment type
ao3: how is it a strength of research into the influence of early attachment on later relationships and friendships that it supports the continuity hypothesis and the IWM?
Myron-Wilson found the insecure avoidant type is most likely to be bullied due to being alone, insecure resistant type is most likely to be the bully due to jealousy and securely attached less likely to be involved at all because they have good friendships, this supports the link between early attachment and later relationships which supports the IWM and continuity hypothesis therefore we can be more confident that effects observed are actually true which increases the validity of research into early attachment on later relationships
ao3: what research did Zimmerman (2000) conduct that criticises research into the influence of early attachment on later relationships?
Zimmerman (2000) assessed infant attachment type and adolescent attachment to parents. There was very little relationship between quality of infant and adolescent attachment. this is a problem because it is not what we would expect if internal working models were important in development.
ao3: what is the limitation of research into the influence of early attachment into later relationships being predominantly self-report?
most research replies on self-report techniques which may effect accuracy as people may not accurately recall events, which reduces validity as it relies on accurate recall
ao3: why is the research not being causational a huge limitation of research into the influence of early attachment on later relationships and friendships?
research shows a line between early attachment and later relationships however this does not mean the link is direct, an alternative example is a temperament hypothesis saying a child’s personality effects attachment type and shows a third confounding factor
ao3: why is it a problem that the internal working model is an unconscious process vs self-report?
there is a theoretical problem with most research related to internal working models. internal working models are unconscious; we are not directly aware of their influence on us. We would not really expect to get direct evidence about them by means of interviews or questionnaires because people can only self-report what they are aware of.
When participants self-report on their relationships they are relying on their conscious understanding of those relationships. at best the self-report gives us indirect evidence about internal working models.
this is a potential limitation of most research involvina the concept of internal working models.
