Influence Of Early Attatchments In Children And Adults Flashcards
What is the role of internal working model ?
Bowlby (1969) suggested that a child having their first relationship with their primary attachment
figure forms a mental representation of this relationship. This internal working model acts as a
template for future relationships.
An internal working model resembles a schema in that it is a mental structure in long-term
memory that provides the basis for forming expectations. In the case of attachment, this relates
to a person’s expectations about relationships and their own success as a parent.
The quality of the child’s first attachment is crucial because this template will powerfully affect
the nature of their future relationships. An infant, whose first attachment is a secure one, will
expect future attachments figures to respond warmly and positively. In contrast, an infant
whose first attachment is insecure will expect to have negative experiences concerning future
attachments.
Summarise the research into childhood relationships myron Wilson and smith
Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) investigated the internal working model to see if there was an
association between early attachment type and participation in bullying behaviour (as either a
bully or a victim) in childhood.
Procedure:
• The sample consisted of 196 children aged between 7 and 11 years from a South East London
primary school.
• All children were assessed for attachment type and quality of relationship with parents using
the Separation Anxiety Test and a Parenting Styles Questionnaire. Children were then
divided into secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant attachment types.
• Involvement in bullying, both as a perpetrator and victim were examined by a test called the
Participant Roles Scale, in which each child identifies their peers as either a bully, a victim of
bullying or uninvolved in bullying. The number of bullies and victims identified by peers in
each category were counted.
What were the findings of childhood relationships ?
Findings
• Secure children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying.
• Insecure-avoidant children were most likely to be victims of bullying.
• Insecure-resistant children were most likely to be rated by their peers as bullies.
Conclusion
These findings support the continuity hypothesis suggesting there is a link between early
attachment and the quality of peer relationships in childhood. Therefore, attachment types
predict some of the most negative types of interaction between peers
What is the procedure of adult relationships - Hazan and shaver ?
Hazan and Shaver (1987) conducted a study to test the internal working model, by
investigating the idea that early attachment styles would be reflected in adult romantic
relationships, as predicted by Bowlby.
Procedure
They analysed 620 responses (205 from men and 415 from Women) to a ‘love quiz’ printed
in a local North American newspaper. The questionnaire asked questions about their current
attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of three statements best described
their feelings about romantic relationships. These descriptions related to secure, insecure
avoidant and insecure resistant attachments. Participants were also asked to complete a
checklist describing childhood relationships with parents. In order to find out if there would
be a correlation between adults’ romantic relationship.
What were the findings of adult relationships ?
Findings
When analysing the self-reports questionnaires, they found that the percentage of adults in
the different attachment types broadly matched those in Ainsworth’s strange situation
The 56% of adults classified as securely attached tended to have a positive internal
working model and described their love experience as happy, friendly and trusting.
These relationships were longer lasting and if married tended not to be divorced.
The 25% of adults classified as insecure-avoidant were more doubtful about the existence
or duration of romantic love. They also maintained they did not need love partners to be
happy.
• The 19% of adults classified as insecure-resistant tended to fall in love easily,
demonstrated jealousy and worried that their partners might abandon them.
They also found a correlation between attachment type and the degree of sensitivity shown
by mothers based on their memories of parenting styles.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that early patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in adult
romantic relationships, supporting the continuity hypothesis.
What is supporting research of the internal working model?
There is supporting research for the internal working model as
suggested by Bowlby’s view, that an infant’s first relationship with a primary attachment
figure forms a mental representation for later relationship. For example, Simpson et al’s
(2007) longitudinal study assessed infant attachment type at one year of age (using the
strange situation) and then gathered data through interviews and questionnaires up to the
age of 20-23. They found that participants who were securely attached as infants were rated
as having higher social competence as children, closer to their friends at age 16 and were
more expressive and were emotionally attached to their romantic partners in early
adulthood. This supports the view that attachment type does predict future childhood and
adult relationships.
What is the the issue with mixed findings of childhood relationships ?
contrast to the support for the internal working model, findings from
Zimmerman et al’s (2000) longitudinal studies yielded mixed results. They found that
childhood attachment type was not a good predictor of attachments in adolescence, and that
life events often altered secure attachments to an insecure type in adulthood. Those who
had changed attachment type had generally experienced a life event such as the loss of a
parent, parental divorce or a life-threatening illness of a parent or child. Waters et al (2000)
found that 44% of the infants who had experienced negative life events changed attachment
classification from infancy to early adulthood. This suggests that although there is strong
support for continuity of attachment, there is also evidence that positive or negative
environmental changes can improve or compromise attachment type in later life.
What is the issue with it being a correlational research ?
– One problem with the research linking the internal working model
(early attachment) with later relationship experiences is that it is correlational rather than experimental. Therefore, we cannot claim that the relationship between early attachment
and later relationships is one of cause and effect. The temperament hypothesis is an
alternative explanation to the continuity hypothesis. This view is that some infants are born
friendly, and this leads to secure attachment and determines the kind of relationships they
have later in life. This suggests it is not attachments in early life that lead to later
relationships but the child’s own innate temperament. This is a limitation as it is counter to
Bowlby’s view that the internal working model caused these later outcomes.
What is the issue with the research not being deterministic ?
– Research suggests that very early experiences have a fixed effect on later
relationships and, therefore, children who are insecurely attached at one year of age are
doomed to experience emotionally unsatisfactory relationships in childhood and adult. This
is fortunately not the case, as researchers have found plenty of instances where participants
were experiencing happy adult relationships despite not having been securely attached as
infants. Therefore, the research does not suggest that an individual’s past unalterably
determines the future course of their relationship; it just suggests they are at a greater risk
of future problems.
