Influence of early attachment Flashcards
What is the internal working model
The internal working model is an aspect of Bowlby’s monotropic theory.
The internal working model is formed based off a child’s first relationship and then acts as a blueprint for later relationships.
This means babies who have a secure attachment seek out good quality relationships and behave functionally within them
-Insecure A = emotionally uninvolved
-Insecure R = controlling and argumentative
Kerns (Childhood relationships)
Children with secure attachments were found to have the best quality childhood friendships, where as insecurely attached babies struggled with friendship difficulties
Myron-Wilson and Smith
(childhood)
Studied 196 children aged 7-11 from London’s attachment type and involvement in bullying on a questionnaire.
Found that securely attached children were likely to have no involvement in bullying, insecure-avoidant babies were most likely to be victims of bullying and insecure-resistant babies were most likely to be bullies.
McCarthy (adult relationships)
Studied 40 women who had been assessed for their attachment type when they were babies.
Found that the securely attached babies had grown to have the best quality adult friendships and relationships.
Insecure A = struggled with intimacy
Insecure R = found it hardest to maintain relationships
Hazan and Shaver
(Adult romantic relations)
Studied 620 responses to a love quiz in a newspaper.
Quiz contained 3 sections:
1) asking about most important relationship currently
2) asking about general love life
3) assessing attachment type
Quiz found :
56% = secure
25% = insecure avoidant
19% = insecure resistant
Those with secure attachments = good quality long-lasting relationships
Insecure A = jealousy and fear of intimacy
Bailey (adult relationships)
studied 99 mothers and their babies using the strange situation as well as the attachment of the mothers to their own mothers using interviews.
Found = the majority of mothers had the same attachment style to their babies as what they had to their own models, suggested the internal working model is longlasting and can be reflected.
A03 = Research support
One strength of studying early attachment is that reviews of evidence has found that early attachments are consistently good predictors for factors such as later attachments, emotional wellbeing and attachments to own children.
The strength of this association depends on, the type of attachment and the aspect of later development.
Eg:
insecure avoidant = minor disadvantage for mental wellbeing
disorganised attachment = strong association to mental disorders.
A03 = research support counterpoint
HOWEVER = the Regensburg longitudinal study (Becker-Stroll) studied 43 children from 1 year old. Their attachment was studied at 16 using the Adult Attachment Interview and no continuity in their attachment was found.
This suggests that other factors may have influence over later aspects of development
A03 = low validity of retrospective studies
Retrospective studies such as adult interviews rely heavily on the honesty and accuracy of participants, as well as it not being obviously clear whether early attachment or adult attachment is being studied.
A03 = possibility for confounding variables
Even in studies such as McCarthy who did have evidence of early attachments, there is still possibility for confounding variables to have impacted adult development aspects such as relationships and friendships.
For example, parenting style and genetic aspects of personality.
A03 = determinism
The theory of early attachment can also be considered deterministic, which can lead to pessism and self fulfilling prophecies. However, understanding how early attachments can impact adult development also allows for opportunity to intervene with people an support them.
