The influence of Early attachment

Question 1

Hazan and Shaver (1987)

Answer 1

Desined a study to test internal working model.

• Placed a ‘Love quiz’ in the American rocky Mountain news which examined current attachment experiences and attachment history. The questionnaire also asked about attitudes towards love to assess the internal working model.

Question 2

Hazan and Shaver (1987)

How many people responded?

Answer 2

620 People responded, 205 men and 415 women, there was a + correlation between attachment type and love experiences.

Securely attached aduts described their love experiences as happy, friendly and trusting. A relationship was found between the conception of love and the internal working model.

Question 3

4 Behaviours influenced by the internal working mode;

Answer 3

1. The childhood friendsips - are classified as securely attached in infancy. score highly for social competency later in childhood.
2. Poor parenting - Harlow’s research with monkeys demonstrate a link between poor attachment and difficulties with parenting attachment type and later relationships.
3. Romatic relationsips - Hazan and Shaver found a link between early attachment and later relationships
4. Mental health - The lack of attachment durng the critical period can result in the lack of an internal working model and ‘attachment disorder’

Question 4

AO3

Question 5

One critcism of attachment is that the research is correlational

Answer 5

E: One issue is that the research linking the internal working odel with later relationship experiences is correlational and a cause and effect relationship cannot be established

E: It is possible that the attachment style and later love styles are caused by another factor - such as the child’s temperament

L: This matters as researchers are unable to conclude that the internal working model deterines later relationsip, as there may be other factors cause the differences found.

Question 6

Another cricism of attachment is research is the relliance on retrospective classification

Answer 6

E: Studies like Hazan and Shaver rely on adults answering questions about their early lives in order to assess infant attachment

E: Such recollections may be flawed as out memories of the past are not always accurate and the parents may be inclined to lie (Social desirability bias.)

L: This is because the research findings may not be valid and therefore longnitudinal stuies may provide a more accurate representation of early attachment influences

Question 7

A final criricism of attachment research come from alternate explanations.

Answer 7

E: Freeney (1999) suggests that the adult attachment patterns may be properties of the relationship, rather than the indviduals.

E: For example it is possible that the adult secure relationship causes the adult attachment type.

L: This shows there is a possiblity that their is another explanaring can account for the findings in early attachment research and the early theories may not be correct.

Question 8

What AO3 are you using for the influence of attachment.

Answer 8

1. That the research is correntional
2. The reliance on retrospective classification
3. research comes from alternate explanations.