Influence of Childhood

Question 1

What methodological issues are there in research that tries to link childhood attachment with adult relationships?

Answer 1

attrition rates in longitudinal studies, some research based on self reports, not well operationalized (people can belong to more than one attachment group), correlational, culturally unrepresentative research

Question 2

How do insecure avoidant type children develop their internal working model to behaviour in adult relationships?

Answer 2

sceptical about love so hard to find partner they trust, low friendship

Question 3

How do secure type children develop their internal working model to behaviour in adult relationships?

Answer 3

believe in possibility of love and realistic about changes so trusting, happy, less jealous and obsessed

Question 4

How do insecure resistant type children develop their internal working model to behaviour in adult relationships?

Answer 4

similar to avoidant (sceptical about love) so high jealousy, low happiness, trust, fall in and out of love

Question 5

What is the evidence of continuity from childhood to adulthood?

Answer 5

Waters 2000: retested attachment type 20 years later, 72% same classification. Lewis 2000: attachment type at 1yr and 18yrs, 42% same. Expect some similarity as 65% secure in Strange Situation

Question 6

What is the evidence from specific adult behaviour on attachment type?

Answer 6

Senchak and Leonard 1992: resistant men acquired marriage licences after shorter times than secure men. Better marital adjustment when both partners are secure. Campbell 2005: avoidant most likely to keep distance and say they’ve never been in love

Question 7

What is an alternative approach (IDA) to Bowlby’s internal working model?

Answer 7

Kagan’s temperament hypothesis: infants born with innate personality that relates to attachment type - similar predictions to IWM but different cause

Question 8

How does the temperament hypothesis relate to the nature-nurture debate?

Answer 8

may not matter as much how mother’s raise infants if their attachment is predisposed by their personality

Question 9

How could the influence of genetics on attachment be tested?

Answer 9

Separated twin studies/compare MZ and DZ, if same attachment type but raised in different environments it would suggest dominant genetic influence of attachment type

Question 10

What did Freud theorise about all family tensions?

Answer 10

revolve around issues of love and competition

Question 11

When does a child enter the Oedipal phase? What does this mean?

Answer 11

4/5, (phallic stage), desire for sexual contact with opposite-sex parent, perceives other parent as competition

Question 12

What does the male oedipal phase consist of?

Answer 12

boy closely attached to mother, whilst caring for him she stimulates erogenous zones, sexual fantasies, wants monopoly of mother so needs to eliminate father, rivalry, not serious as boy worried about father castrating him

Question 13

What 4 things contribute to boy’s castration anxiety?

Answer 13

discover girls lack penis think they could also lose theirs, direct/indirect castration messages from parents, father perceived as angry wants revenge, other experiences which dramatise body part loss (excretion)

Question 14

When is the oedipal struggle resolved?

Answer 14

When boy enters latency period when sexual fantasies/actions repressed, impulses reoccur at puberty

Question 15

What do the nature of adult relationships for men depend on?

Answer 15

How Oedipal conflict was resolved, defects = choosing women similar to/very different from mother or anxious that he shouldn’t have any sexual relations

Question 16

What does the female Oedipal phase consist of?

Answer 16

Initial adoption of mother as love object, when sees penis on boys decides she has lost hers: badge of inferiority, disappointment shifts attention to father, wants to produce child to compensate for no penis

Question 17

What happens after the female Oedipal phase?

Answer 17

enters latency stage, re-emergence of sexual activity in puberty, penis envy drives much of a woman’s sexual behaviour in adult relationships (similar to father/different to mother)

Question 18

What 3 predictions can be made from Freud’s Oedipal theory?

Answer 18

choice of sexual partner influenced by Oedipal phase (reflect similarities with opposite sex parent), more obvious in males due to greater intensity of experiences, women’s sexual relations should reflect father, not mum

Question 19

What is the research evidence for the oedipal theory?

Answer 19

Jedlicka 1980: marriage records with ethnically mixed parents in Hawaii, significant support (married twice)
Jedlicka 1984: same but only married once
Married partner of same ethnicity as opposite parent

Question 20

How could the Jedlicka findings be used the other way around to support the Oedipal theory?

Answer 20

If findings were other way around (chosen spouses of different nationality to parents) could argue theory still correct: unfalsifiable

Question 21

What is an IDA issue relating to alternate approach that could explain the Jedlicka results?

Answer 21

May inherit parent’s preferences: biological explanation

Question 22

Who provides borderline support for the oedipal theory?

Answer 22

Aron 1974: couples waiting for marriage license, Toronto, questionnaires comparing relationship to parents, men and women perceived their relationships with spouses as most similar to mother, men not very obvious

Question 23

How do Aron’s findings relate to the attachment theory?

Answer 23

Attachment to mother (primary care giver) may influence future relationships, supports IWM on interactions with mother

Question 24

What is the main issue with Freud’s theory?

Answer 24

Lack of scientific testing so no general trend can be taken from research, very few systematic studies