Role of IWM

Question 1

Supporting Research -

Answer 1

There is supporting research for the internal working model as suggested by Bowlby’s view, that an infant’s first relationship with a primary attachment figure forms a mental representation for later relationship. For example, Simpson et al’s (2007) longitudinal study assessed infant attachment type at one year of age (using the strange situation) and then gathered data through interviews and questionnaires up to the age of 20-23. They found that participants who were securely attached as infants were rated as having higher social competence as children, closer to their friends at age 16 and were more expressive and were emotionally attached to their romantic partners in early
adulthood. This supports the view that attachment type does predict future childhood and adult relationships.

Question 2

Deterministic

Answer 2

Research suggests that very early experiences have a fixed effect on later relationships and, therefore, children who are insecurely attached at one year of age are
doomed to experience emotionally unsatisfactory relationships in childhood and adult. This is fortunately not the case, as researchers have found plenty of instances where participants
were experiencing happy adult relationships despite not having been securely attached as infants. Therefore, the research does not suggest that an individual’s past unalterably determines the future course of their relationship; it just suggests they are at a greater risk of future problems.

Question 3

Mixed Findings

Answer 3

In contrast to the support for the internal working model, findings from Zimmerman et al’s (2000) longitudinal studies yielded mixed results. They found that childhood attachment type was not a good predictor of attachments in adolescence, and that life events often altered secure attachments to an insecure type in adulthood. Those who had changed attachment type had generally experienced a life event such as the loss of a
parent, parental divorce or a life-threatening illness of a parent or child. Waters et al (2000) found that 44% of the infants who had experienced negative life events changed attachment classification from infancy to early adulthood. This suggests that although there is strong support for continuity of attachment, there is also evidence that positive or negative environmental changes can improve or compromise attachment type in later life.