The influence of early attachment Flashcards
How did Bowlby believe early attachment influenced later life
Through the internal working model as the continuity hypothesis
What is the internal working model
It is a model of a relationship based off of the one developed with the caregiver which acts as a prototype for future relationships
Who conducted the love quiz
Hazan and Shaver
Where was the ‘Love Quiz’ posted
In the Rocky Mountain News
What was the ‘Love Quiz’
It asked questions about current attachment experiences and attachment history to identify their past and current attitudes to love. An assessment of the internal working model
How many people were analysed for the love quiz
They analysed 620 responses, 205 from men and 415 from women. They represented a wide cross-section of the population
What were the findings of the ‘love quiz’
They found that the prevalace of attachment styles was similar to those found at infancy
What percentage of people in the love quiz were secure
56%
What percentage of people in the love quiz were avoidant
25%
What percentage of people in the love quiz were resistant
19%
Was there a correlation between attachment type and relationship style (in love quiz)
Yes, positive correlation
What were the differences in relationships between the different attachment types
Secure people’s relationships were more happy and trusting, lasting on average 10 years compared to 6 years for avoidant people and 5 years for resistant people
Were things other than relationships impacted by relationship style
Securely attached people were found to be more socially competent, being more empathertic and popular
How did being insecurely attached effect parenting in Quintone et al’s study
They were worse parents as they had no reference point to form an attachement with their own children
How is mental health impacted by insecure attachment
Children can have attachment disorders where they have no preffered attachment figure, as well as an inability to relate to others which is evident before the age of five
Who didn’t find a strong correlation between early attachment and later relationships
Fraley, he reviewed 27 samples where infants were assessed in infancy and later reassessed. Found correlations ranging from .50 to .10.
What did Fraley suggest was one of the reasons for low correlations in his research
Insecure-resistant attachment is more unstable, and so may pull down overall correlations
What is an issue with studies of early attachment
They rely on retrospective classifiaction to assess the participants infant attachment type, with is likely to be flawed as people’s memories of the past are often innacurate
Who supports Hazan and Shaver despite their use of retrospective classification
Simpson et al, who found in a longitudinal study that those who were securely attached as infants were rated as having higher social competence as children and were closer to friends at 16 and were more emotionally attached to their romantic partners in adulthood
Where does this influence of early attachment lie in the determinsm vs free will debate
Very determinist, suggests that if you’re insecurely attached as a child you’re doomed to experience emotionally unfulfillng relationships in adulthood
What is an alternative explination for influence of attachment
Feeney “These patterns are properties of the relationship not the individual, as adult relationships are guided by a self verification process, where you seek others who confirm your expectation of a relationship, the adult relationship is causing the adult attachment type rather than the infant attachment type causing the adult relationship.”
Who suggested an alternate explination for influence of early attachment
Feeney
