Attachment: The influence of early attachment Flashcards
What is the internal working model?
Internal working model – mental model of the world which allows individuals to predict + control the environment, much like a schema. In regard to attachment relates to an individual’s expectations about relationships.
What is the role of the internal working model?
It’s an operable model of self and attachment partner. It’s operable because it’s seems to predict the behaviour of other people in the future —> an infant learns what relationships are and how partners in a relationship act towards each other.
Who investigated the early influences of attachment?
Hazan and Shaver Love quiz (1987)
What was the aim of Hazan and Shaver’s research?
To investigate the internal working model. They wanted to find out if love in adulthood is directly linked to attachment as a child.
What was the procedure of Hazan and Shaver’s research?
H+S placed a love quiz in the Rocky Mountain News ( a small town American publication). The quiz asked questions about current attachment experiences and about attachment history to identify current and childhood attachment types. The questionnaire also asked questions about attitudes towards love + assessment of the internal working model. They analysed 620 responses, 205 from men and 415 from women from a fair cross section of the population.
What were the findings of Hazan and Shaver’s research?
attachment styles were similar to those found in infancy – 56% were classified as secure, 25% avoidant and 19% resistant. Also found a positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences. Securely attached individuals tended to have a positive internal working model.
What are the 4 AO3 points for Hazan and Shaver’s Love quiz (1987)
-Research is correlational
-Lack of external validity
+Large sample
+Supporting research
(-AO3) Why is the research being correlational a weakness?
Doesn’t establish causality. May have been affected by third variable such as temperament. Attachment experiences don’t necessarily cause attachment styles they may simply be related.
(-AO3) Why does the research lack external validity?
Culture bias as sample was purely western so findings are difficult to generalise to other cultures. Attachment is different in collectivist cultures as proven by Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg so internal working model may work differently.
(+AO3) Why is the research having a large sample a strength?
A strength of combining the results of attachment studies carried out in different countries is that researchers can end with a very large sample. For example, in the Van Ijzendoorn meta-analysis, there was a total of nearly 2000 babies and their primary attachment figures. This is a strength because large samples increase internal validity by reducing the impact of anomalous results caused by bad methodology.
Uses self report technique
Social desirability bias conscious or unconscious. Memory recall from childhood may be inaccurate or exaggerated therefore, the data is unreliable.
