lesson 12- the influence of early attachment on adult relationships

Question 1

two ideas of influence of early attachment on adult relationships

Answer 1

-bowlbys monotropic theory
-Hazan and Shaver 1987

Question 2

early attachment on adult relationships: bowlby

Answer 2

-argued that infants will have one special emotional bond (monotropy), bond is often with biological mother but not always
-importance is that infant uses this relationship to form a mental view of relationships in childhood (internal working model)
-secure relationships in childhood ensure a positive working model and means current, future and romantic adult relationships will be positive and secure
-continuity hypothesis proposes individuals who are securely attached in infancy continue to be socially and emotionally competent, secure childhood leads to positive internal working model

Question 3

early attachment on adult relationships: bowlby evaluation

Answer 3

-Schaffer and Emerson 1964 suggest multiple attachments are more common in babies than monotropy, found that by 18 months only 13% of infants only had one person they were attached to
-femenists/Erica Burman have pointed out the idea of monotropy is socially sensitive, places terrible burden of responsibility on mothers setting them up to take blame for anything that goes wrong in childs life, puts pressure to stay home and give up careers, bowlby underestimated role of father, viewed as primarily economic- outdated and sexist view, many families view both parents as equally responsible for childcare, in many families father is primary caregiver
-Tizard and Hodges 1989 found children who had never formed attachments by the age of 4 and were then adopted could still form attachments to their new adopted parents even though they would not have a positive internal working model

Question 4

Hazan and Shaver 1987

Answer 4

-testing connection between persons infant attachment styles, internal working model, adult attachment style
-placed ‘love quiz’ in rocky mountain newspaper, quiz asked questions about their relationship with their parents, attitudes towards love, and current relationship experiences, analysed 620 responses, 205 from men, 415 from women

Question 5

Hazan and Shaver findings

Answer 5

-when analysing adult attachment style they found the prevalence of adult attachment styles was similar to infant attachment styles, 56% were classified secure, 25% insecure-avoidant, 19% insecure-resistant, suggests most peoples infant attachment styles are the same as their adult attachment style
-found relationship between individuals internal working model and adult attachment style- adults with positive internal working model tended to be securely attached adults
-positive correlation between adult attachment style and love experiences, securely attached adults described their love experiences as happy, friendlym trusting, emphasised being able to accept and support their partner despite faults, these relationships were most enduring- ten years on average compared to six years for avoidant and five years for resistant

Question 6

Hazan and Shaver evaluation

Answer 6

-unreliable, several other studies failed to find strong correlation between infant attachment style and adult attachment style, Fraley 2002 conducted review of 27 samples where infants were assessed in infancy and later reassessed (ranging from one month to 20 years later), found correlations ranging from 0.5 to as low as 0.1
-study is correlational rather than experimental therefore cannot determine cause and effect, impossible to say that infant attachment styles determine adult attachment styles, could be a third variable that affects both such as persons innate temperament
-study relies on participants memories about their early lives in order to assess infant attachment style, such recollections are likely to be flawed because our memories of the past are not always accurate, making study lack validity