Attachment - The effect of early attachment on children and adult relationships

Question 1

What is the internal working model?

Answer 1

• The internal working model is a schema based on the attachment the individual had to their primary caregiver as an infant
• This acts as a template for how relationships work, such as if people can be trusted, or if relationships are loving

Question 2

What is the continuity hypothesis?

Answer 2

-The continuity hypothesis suggests that future relationships (E.g: Childhood friendships, adult partners and even their own parenting relationships with their children) will be shaped by their internal working model

Question 3

What did Hazen and Shaver suggest about the effect of early attachment on children and adult relationships?

Answer 3

-Hazen and Shaver suggest that adult relationship types are a continuation of Ainsworth’s infant types (A,B and C)

Question 4

How will children with secure attachments to their caregiver be effected in their future relationships?

Answer 4

-Children with a secure attachment type (B) will go on to be more socially capable in relationships (Childhood and adult relationships)

Question 5

How did Main et al aim to predict adult attachment types and people’s relationship style with their own children?

Answer 5

• Main et al developed an adult attachment interview to identify the participants IWM
• The types that Main et al used were: Dismissing, autonomous, preoccupied and unresolved (Childhood trauma)
• These types aim to predict relationship styles with the person’s own children

Question 6

What did Verissimo et al show about the effect of a strong childhood attachment to fathers?

Answer 6

-Verissimo et al showed a strong attachment to the father predicts high ability to make friends in school

Question 7

What did McCarthy show about the effect of childhood attachment on woman’s adult relationships?

Answer 7

-McCarthy showed that adult women assessed as type B in infancy had the most stable adult relationships

Question 8

What is an advantage of research on the effect of early attachment on children and adult relationships?

Answer 8

• There are practical applications of the findings from research on the effect of early attachment in schools
• Altering the IWM to address issues such as bullying and loneliness in childhood
• The applications can even help children achieve relationship stability in later adulthood

Question 9

How does Kagan’s theory of alternate temperament oppose the theory of the internal working model and the continuity hypothesis?

Answer 9

• Kagan suggests the alternate temperament hypothesis
• This hypothesis suggests that infants have an innate biological personality (Ie: to be passive or challenging)
• This results in infant-caregiver and adult relationships

Question 10

What is a disadvantage of the continuity hypothesis?

Answer 10

• The continuity hypothesis is highly deterministic

- This can make people feel doomed to have poor relationships

Question 11

What is a disadvantage of research on the effect of early attachments of adult relationships?

Answer 11

-Research on the link between adult and infant attachment is correlational, so researchers are not able to establish the cause and effect

Question 12

What is a disadvantage of studies on the influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships?

Answer 12

• In studies such as Hazen and Shaver’s love quiz, the research relied on self-report techniques to collate information on individuals’ early attachment and adult relationships
• The validity of self-report techniques is questionable as memory of early childhood is reconstructive and unlikely to be accurate