influence of early attachment on later relationships

Question 1

internal working model

Answer 1

proposed by bowlby 1969
suggests that child having their first relationship with their primary attachment figure forms a mental representation of this relationship. acts as a template for future relationships .

Question 2

relationships in later childhood

Answer 2

attatchment type =quality of peer relationship
KERNS 1994
secure = best quality childhood friends
insecure = friendship difficulties
ROWAN MYRON WILSON+SMITH 1968
asess attatchment type and bullying involvement by using standardised q in 196 children aged 7-11 from London.
secure = unlikely to be involved
resistant = most likely to be bullies
avoidant = victims

Question 3

relationships in adulthood with romantic partners

Answer 3

MCCARTHY 1999
studied 40 adult women who had been assessed when they were infants to establish early attachment type .
secure = best adult friendships and romantic relationships
resistant = struggle to maintain friendship
avoidant = struggle with intimacy in romantic relationships
HAZAN AND SHAVER 1987
conducted a classic study of association between attatchment and adult relationships.love quiz.
56% secure long lasting healthy
25% avoidant jealousy fear intimacy
19% resistant

Question 4

relationships in adulthood as a parent

Answer 4

IWM affects Childs ability to parent own children
people tend to base their parenting style on IWM so attachment type tends to passed through generations
BAILEY ET AL 2007
considered attachment on 99 mothers too their babies and their own mothers. majority of women had the same attachment classification both to the babies and their own mothers

Question 5

limitation
evidence on continuity of attachment is mixed

Answer 5

IWM predicts continuity between the security of infants attchemnt and that off its later relationships
MCCARTHY 1999
not support continuity
ZIMMERMAN 2000
assessed infant attatchemnt type and adolescent attachment to parents . little relationship .
- problem bc not what we expect if IWM were important in development

Question 6

limitation
most studies have issues of validity

Answer 6

most do not use SS but assess infant parent attachment by means of interview or questionnaire, not in infancy years but later. VALIDTY PROBLEMS.
assessment = self report
assessment = retrospective
relies on accurate recollections low validity

Question 7

limitation
association does not mean causality

Answer 7

early attachment associated with quality of later relationships
implication is that infant attachment type causes the atatchment
alternative explanations ie a third environmental factor such as parenting style may have a direct effect on both attachment and t6he Childs ability to form relationships w others. Childs temepremnt mightt also influence both infant attachment and quality of later relationships.
- limitation as counters bowlbys view that IWM was responsible for this