Influence of Early Attachment Flashcards
What is the role of the internal working model in the success of future relationships?
- IWM is the idea that the first relationship with the primary attachment figure one has forms a mental representation of future intimate relationships
- This acts as a template for such relationships containing how to behave and what to expect
- The quality of the child’s first attachment is crucial as it will affect the quality of future relationships - this is known as the continutity hypothesis
- A child whose first attachment is a loving, positive, secure relationship with a carer will assume that all relationships are this way
- Whereas a child who first experiences attachment in a negative, insecure relationship with a carer will assume all relationships are this way and have difficulty forming attachments in the future
What was Hazan and Shaver’s study?
METHOD: Analysed replies to a love quiz posted in an American newspaper. The quiz had 3 sections: current/most important relationship, general love experiences (e.g. number of partners), and the early attachment type with parents
FINDINGS:
- Adults securely attached in childhood were typically in loving, long-lasting relationships
- Those insecurely attached reported jealousy and fear of intimacy
- 56% of adults were categorised as secure, 25% insecure avoidant, 19% insecure resistant
CONCLUSION: Early attachment type does infact influence adult relationships
What was Kerns et al’s study?
- Examined association between attachment type and quality of peer relationships in childhood
- Found that securely attached infants go on to form best childhood friendships whereas insecurely attached infants tend to have friendship difficulties
What was Smith et al’s study?
- Found bullying behaviour can also be linked to attachment type
- Securely attached children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying
- Insecure avoidant were most likely to be victims
- Insecure resistant children were most likely to be bullies
What is a strength?
- A strength of research into the influence of early attachment on later relationships is that it has practical applications
- Our understanding that early attachments have a lasting impact has led to adoption agencies prioritising geting children adopted as young as possible
- This a strength because early adoption gives children the best chance to build a positive IWM and form strong attachments with their new carer and thus go on to have healthy future attachments as the theory states
- As the research csn improve the lives of adopted children it inceases in utility
How do the Koluchova twins weaken the research?
- A weakness of the research is that there is refuting evidence
- The Koluchova twins were kept isolated, locked in a cupboard from 18 months to 7 years old
- However when they were given the care of 2 loving adult the twins recovered fully and went on to have loving families of their own
- This is a weakness because the concept of IWM argues that having problems in forming an initial attachment will led to issues with later adult relationships
- The twins growing to have healthy adult relationships and families show that they were not affected by their childhood experiences in the way the concept would suggest
- This decreases the validity of the research
How is the research being correlational a weakness?
- A weakness of the research is that it is correlational rather than causational
- Thus it can’t establish a cause and effect relationship and claim that the success/failure of future relationships is caused by the quality of our first attachment
- Problems in future relationships can be due to other factors like temperament. According to Kagan those with an inhibited temperament can be timid/shy and have social anxiety as adolescents which could affect their ablity to form future relationships
- This is a problem as this indicates that early attachments are only part of the explanation of future relationships rather than the cause
- Thus the research decreases in validity
