Influence of early attachment on later relationships

Question 1

What is the internal working model?

Answer 1

Bowlby proposed that the relationship with their primary attachment figure forms a representation of what they believe future relationships should be like. A child who has a loving relationship with a reliable carer is likely to form functional relationships in the future. A child with bad experiences is likely to struggle to form relationships in the first place.

Question 2

What research was conducted on relationships in childhood?

Answer 2

Kerns found that attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood as securely attached infants form the best quality childhood friendships whereas insecurely attached infants have friendship difficulties.

Question 3

What research was conducted on bullying?

Answer 3

Myron-Wilson and Smith assessed attachment type and bullying in 196 children using questionnaires and found that secure children were unlikely to be involved in bullying, insecure avoidant were likely to be victims and insecure-resistant were likely to be bullies.

Question 4

What research was conducted on adult relationships?

Answer 4

McCarthy studied 40 adult women who had been assessed as infants to find their attachment types and found that those who were classed as securely attached had the best friendships and adult relationships. Insecure-resistant led to struggles maintaining friendships and insecure-avoidnt struggled with intimacy.

Question 5

What research was conducted on romantic relationships?

Answer 5

Hazan and Shaver conducted a study on the association between attachment and adult relationships by analysing answers from a love quiz in a newspaper. 56% of respondents were securely attached with 25% insecure-avoidant and 19% insecure resistant. Those reporting secure attachments were more likely to have good, long lasting relationships whereas avoidant respondants were jealous and feared intimacy.

Question 6

What research was conducted on relationships as a parent?

Answer 6

Bailey et al. looked at 99 mothers and their attachment to their mothers and baby. They found that the majority of women had the same attachment type as their mother and to their baby.

Question 7

What are the strengths of the research into the effects of early attachment on later relationships?

Answer 7

There is a lot of supporting research from studies which shows the importance of a good childhood attachment on later development.

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of the research into the effects of early attachment on later relationships?

Answer 8

The evidence on the continuity of attachment type is mixed as Zimmerman found no relationship beyween the quality of childhood attachment and adult relationships.
There are issues of validity as you have to rely on memories to identify childhood attachment types and having a realistic view of current relationships.
Association doesn’t mean causation and so temperament may influence infant attachment and later relationships rather than early attachmens.
The importance of early attachments may have been exaggerated as people are not always doomed to have bad relationships because they had attachment issues.
Self report is conscious and so people report what they are aware of but internal working models are not and so it doesn’t tell us very much about the internal wokring model.