lesson 8 influence of early attachment on later relationships attachments Flashcards
what is an internal working model?
child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver
attachment becomes a template for child to base future relationships on
short term consequence of internal working model
gives the child insight into the caregiver’s behaviour and enables the child to influence the caregiver’s behaviour so a true partnership is formed
long term consequence of internal working model
acts as a template for future relationships because it generates expectations for what intimate, loving relationships are like
what was the summary prior and glaser provided for each attachment?
secure attachment is associated with positive outcomes such as less emotional dependence, ambition and interpersonal harmony
avoidant attachment is linked with aggressiveness and generally negative effects
resistant attachment is associated with greater anxiety and withdrawn behaviour
what are the two studies that support the influence of early attachments on relationships in children?
Sroufe et al
Myron-Wilson and Smith
what was Sroufe et al’s study?
Minnesota child-parent study
individuals classed as securely attached in infancy were highest rated for social competence later in life, were less isolated and more popular and empathetic
can be explained in terms of internal working model
what was Myron-Wilson and Smith’s study?
assessed attachment types and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 in London
securely attached children unlikely to be involved in bullying
insecure-avoidant children were most likely to be victims of bullying and insecure resistant were most likely to be bullies
evaluation of early attachment on childhood relationships
a strength of this is the supporting research
problem is methodology used is flawed, questionnaire may have social desirability bias or lied about bullying or being bullied
who did the study for the influence of attachments on adult relationships?
Hazan and Shaver
what was the procedure of Hazan and Shaver’s study?
placed a ‘love quiz’ in an American small town newspaper which asked questions about current attachment experiences and about attachment history to identify current and childhood attachment types
also asked about attitudes towards love
how many responses in sample 1?
620 responses
205 men
415 women between ages 14-82
91% heterosexuel
42% married
28% divorced or widowed
9% living with a partner
31% dating
how many responses in sample 2?
108 students
38 men
70 women
answered additional items on the self side of the mental model
also measured loneliness
percentage of securely attached respondents
56% in both samples
percentage of insecure-avoidant respondents
23% in sample 1
25% in sample 2
percentage of insecure-resistant respondents
19% in sample 1
20% in sample 2
general findings in Hazan and Shaver’s study
in both samples, securely attached described the most important love relationships as happy, friendly and these people had longer lasting relationships and were not likely to be divorce if married
securely attached believed in love
insecure-avoidant were more doubtful about romantic love, also showed jealousy and fear of intimacy
both insecure types were vulnerable to loneliness
conclusions of Hazan and Shaver’s study
percentage of adults in the different attachment styles match those of the children in the strange situation
correlation between adults’ attachment style and their memories of parenting styles they received is similar to Ainsworth’s findings
adults mental models differ according to attachment styles
securely attached more positive and optimistic about themselves
what are the behaviours influenced by the internal working model?
childhood friendships- securely attached= highest rated social competence
poor parenting= monkey research
romantic relationships= Hazan and Shaver’s research
mental health= monkey research
evaluation of the influence of early attachment on later relationships
evidence on continuity of attachment type is mixed- Bailey et al showed that attachment type is passed down
Zimmerman showed that there was little relationship between the two
methodological issues with studies- questionnaires, interviews, social desirability bias
association does not mean causality- parenting style or child’s temperament may influence infant attachment and quality of later relationships so can’t infer cause and effect
influence of early attachment is probabilistic not definite- people are not always doomed to have a bad relationship because they had a poor first attachment
