The influence of early attachment on adult relationships,

Question 1

What was Hazan and Shavers procedure and findings?

Answer 1

-They placed a ‘Love Quiz’ in a US small town newspaper
- The quiz consisted of a multiple-choice questionnaire to assess current and childhood attachment types.
-The questionnaire also asked questions about attitudes towards love, an assessment of the internal working model.
- They analysed 620 volunteer sample responses, 205 from men and 415 from women.

• When analysing self-report of attachment history, they found that the prevalence of attachment styles was similar to that found in infancy
  – 56% were classified as secure, 25% as avoidant and 19%
  are resistant.
• They also found a positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences.
• Securely attached adults described their love experiences as happy, friendly and trusting; they emphasised being able to accept and support their partner despite faults.
• These
  relationships were more enduring – 10 years on average compared to five and six years for resistant and avoidant participants respectively.

-Finally, they found a relationship between the conception of love (the internal working model) and attachment type – securely attached individuals tended to have a positive internal working model.

Question 2

A03 - zimmerman - other factors

Answer 2

• Zimmerman et al (2000) showed that life events such as parental divorce can influence adult security.
• Research by Rutter
  and Quinton (1988) found that women with difficult early experiences developed security if they had good school experience and strong adult relationships.
• Hence, rather than adult behaviour being shaped by childhood attachment alone, research suggests that later experiences also play
  an important role in adult relationships.