AO3

• Data collection

  • most of the assessment methods rely on self report to assess quality relationships - social desireability bias
  • retrospective data - looking back in adulthood at childhood relationships with a primary attachment figure may cause recollection problems: distorted memories, inference, influence of more recent experiences, defence mechanisms
• Deterministic

  • Clark and Clark - the influence of attachment on later relationships are probalistic, people are not doomed to have bad relationships due to early attachments they just have a greater risk
  • not everyone with poor early attachments is going to experience difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships, just as how those with a secure attachment will not always experience loving or unproblematic ones
  • this reduces predictive validity and means that bowlby exaggerated the significance of the early relationships on later relationships
• Self fulfilling prophecy

  • there is a danger in labelling individuals exoeriences and refucing their attachment style down to a 'type', it could lead to swlf fulfilling prophecy meaning that attachment types may do more harm then good
  • this suggests that the label of attachment type could impact behaviour as opposed to early experience being responsible, also reduces internal validity
• Confounding variables

  • some studies domake assessments of infant attachment and follow up children, assessing their later development
  • it is positive as it can track the long term effects of attachment on many different relationships over time (detailed accounts of longitudonal data)
  • HOWEVER, these studies may be affected by confounding variables - for example, parenting style and personality may affect both attachment and later development
  • this menas that we can never be entirely sure that it is infant attachment and not some other factor that is influencing later development