Influence on later relationships

• AO1 - Behaviours influenced by the IWM

  = Childhood friendships

  Continuity between early attachment and later emotional/social behaviour.

  Securely attached children= more popular, less isolated. They have higher expectations that others are friendly and trusting and this would enable easier relationships
• AO1 - Behaviours influenced by the IWM

  Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood: securely attached infants go on to form the best quality friendships while insecurely attached infants struggle. 

  Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) found that insecure-avoidant infants are most likely to be bullied while insecure-resistant infants are most likely to be bullies (questionnaire to 196 children aged 7-11 from London)
• AO1 - Behaviours influenced by the IWM

  = Poor parenting

  Harlow monkeys – lack of attachment / later difficulties with parenting
• AO1 - Behaviours influenced by the IWM

  = Mental health

  Lack of attachment during critical period would result in a lack of IWM.

  Children with attachment disorders have no preferred attachment figure, an inability to interact and relate to others that is evident before the age of 5. 

  Attachment disorder has recently been classed as a distinct psychiatric condition and included in the DSM.
• AO1 - Behaviours influenced by the IWM

  = Romantic relationships

  Key study: Hazan and Shaver
• AO1 - Hazan & Shaver’s love quiz

  Provided evidence in support of Bowlby’s IWM and continuity hypothesis.

  The infant’s relationships with his or her caregiver form the basis of the child’s IWM of relationships. This will affect child’s expectations about what relationships (including romantic ones) will be.

  Therefore link between early attachments, attitudes about romantic relationships and actual romantic relationships

  = this is called continuity hypothesis
• AO3 - Evaluation

  (-) They used self report measures (interview/survey) to assess attachment styles and relationships with parents. 

  This can be subject to social desirability bias when people report themselves in a favourable light to look good. In addition, recording of memories of infant experience may not always be accurate.

  This was a correlational study so does not show cause and effect.
• AO3 - Evaluation

  (+) Supporting Evidence from longitudinal research

  Simpson et al 2007:

  Pts assessed as securely attached at 1 year of age were rated as having higher social competence as children, being closer to their friends at age 16 and were more expressive and emotionally attached to their romantic partners in early adulthood.