Influence of early attachments on realtionships Flashcards
What did Bowlby suggest about the internal working model?
The internal working model acts as a template for future relationships. Their primary attachment figure forms a representation of the relationship.
Why is the quality of a child’s first attachment critical?
Because this template will affect the nature of their future relationships.
What will a child with a secure first attachment expect for future attachments?
For future attachment figures to respond positives and warmly (and vise versa for insecure attachments).
Who did research on the effect of early relationships on CHILDHOOD realtionships?
Myron-Wilson and Smith
What did Myron-Wilson and Smith find?
- Secure children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying.
- Insecure-avoidant children were most likely to be victims of bullying.
- Insecure-resistant children were most likely to be rated by their peers as bullies.
What did Myron-Wilson and Smith conclude?
There is a link between early attachment and the quality of peer relationships in childhood.
Who conducted research on the effects of early attachment on adult relationships?
Hazan and Shaver
What type of relationships did Hazan and Shaver investigate?
Romantic relationships
How many responses to what type of quiz did Hazan and Shaver analyse?
620 responses to a ‘love quiz’
What was the procedure of Hazan and Shaver’s study?
-Pps were asked to answer questions and each answer related to either secure, insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant attachments.
-Pps were also asked about their childhood relationships with parents.
What did Hazan and Shaver find?
Secure= 56% (described their love experience as happy)
Insecure-avoidant= 25% (more doubtful of romantic love)
Insecure resistant= 19% (fall in love easily, worry that their partners might abandon them)
Give an advantage of the influence of early attachment research.
+Strength of the internal working model.
Research to support the idea that in infants first relationship with a primary attachment figure forms a mental reputation for later relationships.
Simpson et al (2007)
Give a disadvantage of influence of early attachment research.
-Limitation of research linking the IWM with a later relationship is that it is correlational rather than experiment and we therefore can’t establish cause and effect.
Suggests that it is not attachments in early life that lead to later relationships but the child’s own innate temperament.
What did Hazan and Shaver find regarding sensitivity shown by mothers?
Found a correlation between attachment type and the sensitivity shown by the mothers based on their memories of parenting styles.
