The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships Flashcards
What is the continuity hypothesis?
The idea that there is consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships, so children’s attachment types are reflected in their later relationships
What is the continuity hypothesis based on?
Bowlby’s internal working model
What is the continuity between early attachment and childhood relationships?
There is a link between the quality of childhood relationships and early attachment styles, and evidence suggests that children who form attachments in early life will not generally go on to form adult sexual relationships
What did Youngblade and Belsky find?
3-5 year olds who were securely attached were more curious, competent, empathetic and got along better with other children
What did Westermarck report?
Children who form close friendships in the first six years of life do not generally go on to form adult sexual relationships, suggesting early attachments do affect childhood and early relationships
What is intergenerational continuity?
Adults pass their attachment types on to their children, including their parenting styles
What did Hazan and Shaver want to investigate?
The idea that early attachment styles would be reflected in adult romantic relationships, as suggested by Bowlby
How did Hazan and Shaver investigate intergenerational contiguity?
Through a “love quiz” published in a local newspaper which asked participants to identify the description that best suited them and a checklist concerning their parents
How many samples did Hazan and Shaver use?
Two; one made up of students, the other self-selected
How many of Hazan and Shaver’s participants identified themselves as securely attached (type B)?
56%
How many of Hazan and Shaver’s participants identified as insecure-avoidant (type A)?
23%/25%
How many of Hazan and Shaver’s participants identified as insecure-resistant (type C)?
19%/20%
What did Hazan and Shaver conclude?
The percentages match Ainsworth’s study, suggesting there is a correlation, and sensitive responsiveness was still found to be a key factor, also insecure attachment styles were more likely to feel lonely
What did Hamilton find?
Securely attached children went on to have insecurely-attached relationships if they had experienced negative life events
Give one study that shows the influence of early attachment types on childhood
Myron-Mason and Smith: Surveyed 196 children in London and found insecure-resistant children were more likely to be bullies and insecure-avoidant children are more likely to be the victims of bullying
