AO3

• Strength:

  • A strength of research into early attachment and later relationships is research support
  • For example, Fearon and Roisman found that early attachment styles consistently predict later attachment behaviour, such as secure attachment being linked to positive outcomes, while disorganised attachment predicts significant disadvantages.
  • This supports Bowlby’s continuity hypothesis, showing that early attachment influences future relationships through the internal working model.
• Weakness:

  • A weakness of research into the influence of early attachment on later relationships is that it lacks validity.
  • This is because it often relies on self-report methods like interviews and questionnaires.
  • Self-reports are prone to social desirability bias, inaccurate recollections, and misperceptions of relationships, reducing the accuracy of findings, making the methodological issues undermine the validity of conclusions
• Weakness:


  • A weakness of the influence of early attachment on later relationships is that it is likely but not deterministic.
  • For instance, Clarke and Clarke argue that while early attachment can affect future relationships, this impact is probabilistic rather than predetermined.
  • Therefore, overemphasising early attachment risks unnecessary pessimism about individuals’ futures and oversimplifies complex factors, such as life experiences and personality, that also shape relationships, limiting the explanation’s validity.