Attachment: The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships

Question 1

Similarities between adult romantic and infant-caregiver relationships

Answer 1

• Feel safe when the other is nearby and responsive.
• Engage in close, intimate bodily contact.
• Feel insecure when the other is inaccessible.
• Share discoveries with one another.
• Play with one another’s facial features and exhibit a mutual fascination and preoccupation with one another.
• Engage in ‘baby talk’.

Adopted from Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) article ‘romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process’.

Question 2

The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships
back to bowlyby

Answer 2

It stands to reason that behaviors that have similarities are likely to have the same route causes. We have already seen that there are similarities between romantic and caregiver-infant attachments, so a similar internal working model is likely to be at play.

Question 3

The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships
Continuity hypothesis:

Answer 3

The idea that there is consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships, the continuity hypothesis idea is based upon the internal working model where an infant’s primary attachment forms a model (template) for future relationships.

Question 4

Relationships in childhood

Answer 4

Kerns (1994): securely attached infants had the best quality friendships, while insecurely attached infants have friendship difficulties.

Question 5

Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998)

Answer 5

Aim: assess attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires.

Good or bad using questionnaires?
Social desirability bias: wanting to look socially acceptable.

Procedure: 196 children aged 7-11 from London.

Result:
Secure children unlikely to be bullies,
Insecure-avoidant children most likely to be bullying victims, and insecure-resistant most likely to be bullies.

Question 6

The Love Quiz

Answer 6

Hazan and Shaver (1987) conducted a classic study of the association between attachment and adult relationships.

Procedure: the analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an American local newspaper, consisting of 3 sections. The first assessed respondents current or most important relationship. The second part assessed general love experiences such as number of partners. The third assessed attachment type by making respondents choose which of three statements best described their feelings.

Findings and conclusion – 56% of respondents were identifies as securely attached, with 25% insecure-avoidant and 19% insecure-resistant. Those reporting secure attachments were the most likely to have good and longer-lasting romantic experiences. The avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy. These findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships.

Question 7

Evaluation- Research support

Answer 7

• Research support: Fearon and Roisman (2017) concluded early attachment consistently predicts later attachment, emotional well-being, and later attachment to own children. Disorganized attachment is strongly correlated with mental disorders.

Question 8

• Balanced opportunity and risk: - eval

Answer 8

Clarke and Clarke (1998) said that influence or early attachment is probabilistic. No one is doomed to having poor relationships in adulthood due to poor childhood attachments, but it increases the likelihood.

Question 9

• Retrospective studies - eval

Answer 9

there is a problem with looking back at people’s lives; the way you are now affects how you see the past. These studies depend on honesty and reliability of info given, but if people are better in adulthood than childhood, they may see their childhood differently.

Question 10

• Confounding variables - eval

Answer 10

: other factors may be affecting the DV apart from the IV, e.g., parenting style may affect relationship with kids, not attachment to parents.