The Influence of Early Attachment

• How do early relationships with parents influence future relationships?

  They can prepare or hinder relationship success
• What can be investigated to see if early attachment influences relationships?

  Comparing attachment styles in infancy and later
• What is the continuity hypothesis in attachment theory?

  Future relationships follow a pattern from infancy
• Who proposed the concept of the internal working model?

  John Bowlby
• What does the internal working model include?

  Expectations about trust and affection in relationships
• What are the three attachment styles identified by Ainsworth?

  Secure, avoidant, and anxious
• How do securely attached infants typically fare in adult relationships?

  They develop secure and fulfilling relationships
• What does Bowlby's maternal deprivation theory suggest?

  Disrupted care leads to serious emotional difficulties
• What method did Hazan and Shaver use in their research?

  They published a love quiz in newspapers
• What percentage of participants in Hazan and Shaver's study were classified as secure?

  56%
• What correlation did Hazan and Shaver find in their study?

  Between adult attachment style and infant attachment type
• What did McCarthy's study reveal about insecure infants?

  They had poor romantic relationships as adults
• What did Mar and Wilson's study assess?

  Children's relationships with their parents
• How does a good early relationship with the father affect children?

  It leads to more friends in nursery
• What are the practical applications of understanding early attachment's influence on relationships?

  • Influences early years education
  • Helps reduce bullying and loneliness
  • Promotes relationship stability in adulthood
  • Can lower costs related to divorce
• What is a criticism of research linking early and later attachments?

  It relies on correlational data
• What is Kagan's temperament hypothesis about?

  It suggests temperament affects relationship styles
• What does the continuity hypothesis argue about relationships?

  They are deterministic and repeat patterns