influence of early attachment

Question 1

What is the internal working model?
Example?

Answer 1

Bowlby: how childhood attachments influence adult relationships
Child having a secure attachment to a sensitive caregiver is likely to see themselves as worthy of being loved>forming future secure relationships

Question 2

What does the continuity hypothesis suggest?

Answer 2

An individuals future relationships will follow a pattern based on the internal working model
Pattern includes individuals childhood friendships, partners, parenting with childhood

Question 3

What do Hazen and Shaver argue?

Answer 3

Adult’s relationship type is a continuation of their infant attachment style, classified using Ainsworth’s secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant types
Children with secure attachment will become more socially capable in childhood and adulthood than insecure types

Question 4

One strength of Hazan and Shaver is that there’s research support
PET

Answer 4

E: conducted a ‘love quiz’ in a local newspaper, assessing attachment type with their parents, and answering beliefs and love
correlation between attachment and views:
secure- happy
insecure-avoidant- feared intimacy
insecure-resistant- worried they are not loved
T: early attachment does influence adult relationships

Question 5

What does Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory suggest?

Answer 5

Children with disrupted attachment with primary caregiver in critical period will have problems, with social, emotional, intellectual development>affecting quality of adult relationships

Question 6

One strength of the explanations to relationships in adulthood with romantic partners is that there’s additional research support from McCarthy
PET

Answer 6

E: Assessed 40 adult women, who had been assessed as infants, to establish early attachment to primary care giver
Secure infants- best adult relationships
Insecure-resistant infants- struggled maintaining friendships
Insecure-avoidant infants- struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships
T: early attachment does influence adult relationships

Question 7

One weakness of the research into influence is that they use self-report
PET

Answer 7

E: most studies e.g. Hazan and Shaver used self report, relying on honesty, demand characteristics, social desirability?
T: problem with validity

Question 8

One weakness of the research into influence is that the implication that infant attachment type causes the attachment quality in later relationships may be inaccurate
PET

Answer 8

E: 3rd variable in the environment may affect the attachment and childs ability to form relationships e.g. parenting style
Or a child’s temper may influence attachment
T: Association doesn’t mean causation as other variable may account or the difference found

Question 9

One weakness of the continuity hypothesis is that it’s deterministic
PET

Answer 9

E: suggests individuals are doomed to repeat the types of relations in adulthood they experienced in infancy
T: lacks free will, things can change