Influence of early attachment Flashcards
Who was RTS conducted by?
Harlow who separated monkeys from their mothers at birth and raised them in cages, therefore they had no early attachments
What did Harlow find?
He found that the monkey’s found it difficult to form relationships with other monkeys when they were older - difficulty mating and females were inadequate mothers
How does Harlow support the influence of early attachment?
Shows that having a negative early attachment can lead to negative relationships later with partners and own children
What can the influence of early attachments be criticised for?
Being deterministic
Why is it deterministic?
States that our behaviour is controlled and determined by early relationships e.g negative early attachments will lead to a person having negative attachments with their own children
What does the influence being deterministic neglect?
Neglects the role of free will and choice an individual has e.g a person who experienced a negative attachment may choose to form a more positive and secure attachment with their child
What could be argued about Bowlby’s theory?
That it is socially sensitive
Why is it socially sensitive?
Because it suggests that later childhood and adult relationship success and quality of parenting are solely due to a person’s early attachment.
Who does Bowlby’s theory blame?
The parents for their relationship failures which could have a damaging effect - raising ethical issues
What type of data is Bowlby’s theory based on?
Retrospective
Why is it retrospective data?
Participants have to think back to their early attachments which relies on a individuals accurately recalling their early attachment and their memory may be inaccurate
What does the use of retrospective data lower?
Lowers the internal validity
