influence of early attachment on later relationships

• how does the internal working model affect later relationships?

  first attachment is a template for future relationships

  quality of first attachment is crucial

  good attachment = good relationship expectations

  bad attachment = bad relationship expectations
• what are childhood friendships like for the types of attachment?

  secure will have good childhood friendships

  insecure-avoidant are likely to be victims of bullying

  insecure-resistant are likely to be bullies
• what was the procedure of Hazan and Shavers love quiz?

  analysed 620 replies to a love quiz

  assessed three different aspects of relationships

  1. current and most important relationship
  2. general love experiences
  3. attachment type
• what were the findings and conclusions of the love quiz?

  secure respondents more likely to have good and longer lasting romantic relationships

  avoident respondants more likely to be jealous and fear intimacy
• what is the support for this research?

  many studies showing link between infant attachment type and later development including bullying, sucess in romantic relationships and parenting

  a review by Fearon and Roisman (2017) concluded that infant attachment influenced development in many ways

  this means insecure attachment appears to convey a disadvantage for childrens development
• what are the limitations of this study?

  confounding variables

  validity issues with retrospective studies
• why are there validity issues with retrospective studies?

  most studies assess ppts attachment type in adulthood using questionnaires or interviews which rely on honest answers

  these studies assess attachment in late childhood or adulthood and assume it has remained the same since infancy

  this means that the measures of attachment may not be valid
• why are there confounding variables?

  some studies do make assessments of infant attachment and follow up children assessing their later development

  however these studies may be affected by confounding variables e.g. parenting styles, personalities

  this means that we can never be entirely sure that it is infant attachment and not some other factor that is influencing later development