Influence of early attachments Flashcards
What did Bowlby propose?
the internal working model
Internal working model
A child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver
What are the two categories of consequences for the IWM?
Short term and long term
What are the short-term consequences of the IWM?
Gives child insight into caregivers behaviour and enables the child to influence it, creating a partnership
What are the long -term consequences of the IWM?
It acts as a template for all future relationships because it generates expectations about what intimate, loving relationships are like.
What is the IWM a schema for?
What relationships should entail.
Bowlby (1969)
Suggested that a child having their first relationship with the primary attachment figure forms a mental representation of their relationship. Furthermore, The quality of this first relationship is crucial as it acts as a template and can affect all future relationships.
What do loving first attachments result in?
Functional relationships
what do bad first relationships result in?
Struggle to form relationships/ inappropriate behaviour
Prior and Glaser (2006) on secure attachments
It is associated with positive outcomes such as less emotional dependence, ambition and interpersonal harmony.
Prior and Glaser (2006) on resistant attachments
It is associated with greater anxiety and withdrawn behaviour.
Prior and Glaser (2006) on avoidant attachment
It is linked with aggressiveness, and generally negative effect.
What two studies support the influence of early attachments on relationships in childhood?
Sroufe et al (2005), Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998)
Sroufe et al (2005)
found continuity between early attachment and later emotional/social behaviour.
How did Sroufe et al (2005) see securely attached individuals develop?
Individuals classified as securely attached in infancy were highest rated for social competence later, were less isolated and more popular, and empathetic.
How does Sroufe et al (2005) findings relate to the IWM?
Can be explained in terms of the IWM because securely attached infants have higher expectations that others are friendly and trusting, and this would enable easier relationships with others.
Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998)
Assessed attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7 - 11 from London. This may be because insecure attached children did not have a strong internal working model due to the type of attachment they had with the primary caregiver
What did Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) find about securely attached individuals?
Securely attached children were unlikely to be involved in bullying.
What did Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) find about insecure avoidant attached individuals?
Insecure-avoidant attached children were the most likely to be victims of bullying
What did Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) find about insecure resistant attached individuals?
insecure-resistant attached children were the most likely to be bullies.
What is a strength of the influence of early attachments on childhood friendships?
Supporting research from Minnesota study (longitudinal) and Myron-Wilson and smith study. Conclusions can be drawn from the study on the impact on the IWM and childhood friendships.
What is the weaknesses of the influence of early attachments on childhood friendships?
The methodology used is flawed - for example in Myron-Wilson and Smith study, they used standard questionnaires to assess attachment type and school friendships - the questionnaire itself may be a victim of social desirability bias
Hazan and Shaver (1987)
They decided to study the internal working model and found out about the role of early attachments on adult relationships.
What was the aim of Hazan and Shaver (1987)?
to explore the possibility that attachment theory offers a perspective on adult romantic love and to create a framework for understanding love, loneliness and grief at different points in the life cycle.
What was predicted to happen in the Hazan and Shaver (1987) study?
There would be a correlation between adults’ attachment styles and the type of parenting they received.
Adults with different attachment styles will display different characteristic mental models (internal representations) of themselves and their major social- interaction partners.
What was the procedure of Hazan and Shaver (1987)?
Placed a ‘Love Quiz’ in an American newspaper and asked questions about current attachment experiences and attachment history to identify attachment types and about attitudes towards love to assess IWM
What did Sample 1 of the Hazan and Shaver study consist of?
620 responses, 205 from men and 415 from women between 14-82 years of age.
91% were heterosexual, 42% were married, 28% were divorced or widowed, 9% were living in with their partner and 31% were dating
What did Sample 2 of the Hazan and Shaver study consist of?
108 students (38 men and 70 women) who answered additional items focussing more on the ‘self’ side of the mental model (as opposed to their partner), as well as items measuring loneliness.
What % of people were classed as securely attached in Hazan and Shavers (1987) study?
56
What % of people were classed as insecure avoidant in Hazan and Shavers (1987) study?
23 (sample 1) 25 (sample 2)
What % of people were classed as insecure resistant in Hazan and Shavers (1987) study?
19 (sample 1) 20 (sample 2)
What did Hazan and Shaver conclude about securely attached pps?
Securely attached people described important love relationships as ‘happy, friendly and trusting’. They had longer lasting relationships and if they married were not likely to divorce. They expressed belief in lasting love. They found others trustworthy and had in their own self as likeable.
What did Hazan and Shaver conclude about insecurely attached pps?
Avoidant pps were more doubtful about the existence or durability of romantic love. They maintained that they did not need love partners to be happy. They also tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy.
Both insecure types were vulnerable to loneliness; the insecure-resistant (sample 2) being most vulnerable.
What did Hazan and Shaver conclude overall?
The % of adults in the different attachment types match those of children in the Strange Situation.
The correlation between adults’ attachment style and their memories of parenting styles they had is similar to Ainsworth’s findings, where children’ attachment styles were correlated with the degree of sensitivity shown by mothers.
Adults mental models differ according to attachment styles. Securely attached are more positive and optimistic about themselves and (potential) love partners, compared with either insecurely attached types.
What behaviours are influenced by the internal working model?
- Childhood friendships
- Poor parenting
- Romantic relationships
- Mental health
How are childhood friendships influenced by the internal working model?
Individuals who were classified as securely attached in infancy were highest rated for social competence later in childhood, were less isolated and more popular, and more empathetic. This can be explained in terms of the internal working model because securely attached infants have higher expectations that others are friendly and trusting, and this would enable easier relationships with others.
How is poor parenting influenced by the internal working model?
Harlow’s research with monkeys demonstrated a link between poor attachment and later difficulties with parenting. Quinton et al showed that the same is true in humans. The lack of an internal working model means that individuals lack a reference point to subsequently form relationships with their own children.
How are romantic relationships influenced by the internal working model?
Hazan and Shaver demonstrated a link between early attachment type and later relationships. Individuals who were securely attached with their parents and longer-lasting romantic relationships.
How is mental health influenced by the internal working model?
lack of an attachment in the critical period results in lack of IWM. Children with attachment disorder have no preferred attachment figure, an inability to interact and relate to others, and experience of severe neglect or frequent change of caregivers. For some time a condition called attachment disorder has been recognised but it has recently been classed as a distinct psychiatric condition and included in the DSM.
Belsky (1999)
women with childhood secure attachments experienced less conflict with husbands on topics related to time spent together and household division of labour than insecurely attached women.
Bailey et al (2007)
attachment types tends to be passed on through generations of a family. Mother-baby attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation and mother -own mother attachment was assessed using an adult attachment interview. The majority of women had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers.
What is the evaluation of the influence of early attachment on later relationships (IWM)?
- Evidence on continuity of attachment type is mixed
- Most studies measuring the IWM have issues of validity
- Association does not mean causality
- The influence of early attachment is probabilistic but not definite
How is the evidence on the continuity of attachment mixed?
Some studies like Bailey et al (2007) show that attachment type is passed on through generations. but studies like Zimmerman (2000) found there was very little relationships between quality of infant and adolescent attachment.
What are the issues of validity in some studies measuring IWM?
Some parents may show social desirability bias and very few researchers use the strange situation so it’s difficult to prove if indeed the attachment patterns are correct.
