influence of early attachment

• P: the research linking the internal working model/early attachment with later relationship experiences is correlational rather than experimental

  E: we cant claim that the relationship between early attachment and later love styles is one of cause and effect. it is possible that both attachment style and later love styles are cause by something different such as innate temperament. An infant's temperament affects the way a parent responds and may be a determining factor in infant attachment type.
• link for correlational research

  L: this means that researchers cannot claim that the internal working model determines later relationships. in this case temperament is an intervening variable.
• P: a criticism of studies of early attachment is that they rely on retrospective classification

  E: when adults are asked questions about their early lives in order to assess infant attachment, their recollections are likely to be flawed. this is because our memories of the past are not always accurate. longitudinal studies also support hazan and shaver's findings. a longitudinal study found that participants who were securely attached as infants were rated as having higher social competence as children were more expressive and emotionally attached to their romantic partners in early adulthood
• link for retrospective classification

  L: these longitudinal studies support the view that attachment type does predict relationships in adult life and may offer a more accurate representation of early attachment influences
• P: another criticism of attachment research is that is is overly determinist

  E: research by hazan and shaver suggests that very early experiences have a fixed effect on later adult relationships. children who are insecurely attached at 1 are doomed to experience emotionally unsatisfactory relationships as adults. this is not the case as researchers have found plenty instances where participants were experiencing happy adult relationships despite not having been securely attached as infants.
• link for overly determinist

  L: as simpson conclude, the research does not suggest that 'an individual's past determines the future course of his/her relationships'