influence of early attachment on later relationships

Question 1

what are the 3 main concepts to remember?

Answer 1

• internal working model (Bowlby)
• childhood relationships (Myron-Wilson Smith)
• adult relationships (Hazan and Shaver)

Question 2

what is important in early attachment as it can affect later relationships?

Answer 2

internal working model

Question 3

what is the internal working model?

Answer 3

a schema (mental template) for future relationships based on their first attachment

Question 4

what did Bowlby propose about the IWM?

Answer 4

• believes that later relationships are likely to be a continuation of early attachment styles
• this is because the behaviour of the infants primary caregiver provides an IWM for future relationships
• this leads the infant to expect the same in later relationships as the child continues to apply their schema to future relationships
• secure children develop positive models and insecure children develop unworthy models

Question 5

who researched attachment types and bullying?

Answer 5

Myron-Wilson and Smith

Question 6

outline Myron-Wilson and Smith’s research

Answer 6

• used a questionnaire with 196 children aged 7-11 in south London
• securely attached: less likely to be involved in bullying as children, able to form close relationships with peers
• insecure-avoidant: more likely to be the victims of bullying, more likely to keep distance from others, less likely to make friends as not investing into forming bonds
• insecure-resistant: more likely to bully as children, more likely to be controlling and seek arguments

Question 7

who researched influences of attachment on adult relationships?

Answer 7

Hazan and Shaver - love quiz

Question 8

outline Hazan and Shaver’s procedure

Answer 8

• printed a quiz in a newspaper and analysed the first 620 responses
• ppt’s aged 14-82
• the quiz assessed attachment type and current beliefs about romantic love

Question 9

outline Hazan and Shaver’s findings

Answer 9

• found correlation between attachment type and views on love
• future romantic relationships mirrored their memories of early attachment with parents
• secure: happy, friendly, trusting love experiences, accept their partner regardless, happy depending on others, comfortable for others to depend on them
• insecure-avoidant: feared intimacy, believed love didn’t need to be happy, uncomfortable being close and depending on others, jealousy
• insecure-resistant: often involved obsession, desire for reciprocation, desire for intense closeness could frighten others away, worry partner may abandon them

Question 10

evaluation: research is correlational + ELAB: research support (Kirkpatrick and Davis)

Answer 10

ID: a limitation is that research into later relationships is correlational
Q: this means that the research linking the IWM with later relationship experiences may be reductionist
EX: this means we cannot say that early attachment and later love styles are cause and effect. it is possible that both attachment and later relationships can be affected by confounding variables, such as an infants temperament. for example, an infants temperament affects the way a caregiver responds, which is a determining factor in attachment style, which may explain issues with later relationships
AN: therefore, researchers cannot claim that the IWM determines later relationships, as there may be confounding variables that are responsible, reducing internal validity
ELAB: furthermore, there is research support against the correlation between attachment type and later relationships. this comes from Kirkpatrick and Davis, who found that insecurely attached infants were able to engage in loving relationships as adults

Question 11

evaluation: deterministic

Answer 11

ID: furthermore, a limitation of research is that it is overly deterministic
Q: there are significant problems with the research, such as Hazan and Shaver who suggest that children who are insecurely attached are doomed for later relationships. this is deterministic because it assumes that implies no choice/free will, and that self-fulfilling prophecies must occur.
EX: other research suggests that plenty of insecurely attached children grow up to experience happy and fulfilling relationships. for example, such researchers suggest that experiences throughout life and genetic factors play a role in functioning. the temperament hypothesis, proposed by Kagan, is an alternative explanation that sees the quality of adult relationships as
being determined biologically by innate personality factors.
AN: therefore, this suggests that attachment styles are irrelevant to adult relationships and implies that any attempts to develop better-quality relationships by changing people’s attachment styles to more positive ones will not work. this means that research has limited application

Question 12

evaluation: research was reliable + ELAB: pop validity

Answer 12

ID: however, the research into early attachment influencing later relationships can be considered reliable
Q: this is due to standardised procedures used in the research, such as questionnaires, which increase replicability
EX: for example, Myron-Wilson and Smith’s research used a questionnaire, completed by 196 children, which gave responses to standardised questions. this provided easily analysable data which led to the conclusion that securely attached children form close relationships with peers
AN: this is a strength as it means due to standardised procedures, research can be replicated and tested for reliability of results.
ELAB: However, Myron-Wilson and Smith’s research was only conducted in South London, which means that these conclusions may not be generalisable to the wider population, reducing generalisability of findings.