continuity

• whats the continuity hypothesis ?

  early relationships with our caregivers provide the basis on how we will conduct our later adult relationships
• bowlbys research suggests we develop an attachment style which is stored in the internal working model, an attachment style consists of two attitudes
• what re the two attitudes ?

  attitudes about ourself (self-esteem) and attitude about other people (interpersonal trust)
• the two attitudes are based on our earliest interactions with our caregivers, if we feel highly valued and caregivers are dependable and reliable we are likely to have high self esteem and interpersonal trust, this is the basis of a secure attachment
• the absence of these conditions caregivers provide may result in an insecure attachment style
• how does the caregiver behave towards a child with type B attachment ?

  responsive and sensitive towards infants needs, infants trust their caregiver & not afraid they will be abandoned
• how does the caregiver behave towards a child with type A attachment ?

  distant and not intimate with their child, infant wants to be close but learns they are likely to be rejected
• how does caregiver behave towards child with type c attachment ?

  inconsistent and overbearing with their affection, infant is anxious as they don't know how or when caregiver will respond
• child with secure attachment style?

  developed an IWM that leads to positive interactions with friends, partners and better parenting skills
• child with insecure attachment style ?

  develops an IWM that leads to negative interractions with friends and partners and will struggle with parenting skills
• the effects of early attachment styles will continue into adulthood
• what are the 4 a03 sections of this theory ?

  romantic relationships, childhood friendships, parenting skills, general evaluation points.

  the general evaluation points can be used for all 3 types of relationship
• A03 support for IWM influencing adult relationships ?

  Love quiz: 600 volunteers, questionnaire of 3 parts, current relationship experiences, childhood attachment and attitude towards love, adult romantic relationships linked to early attachment styles
• A03 support for IWM influencing adult relationships ?

  children that developed a secure attachment style due to caregivers behaviour rated their relationship experiences as happy and trusting and lasted longer than insecure types, children that developed avoidant feared intimacy and believed they did not need love to be happy, children who developed resistant experienced obsession, emotional highs and lows, extreme attraction and jealousy and had fear of abandonment
• a03 criticism point of iwm influencing adult relationships ?

  methodological issues with the love quiz: volunteer (biased sample), social desirability bias (sensitive subject on questionnaire), retrospective data (may be inaccurate), therefore supporting evidence is flawed and the continuity hypothesis may not be valid
• A03 support for IWM influencing childhood friendships ?

  Minnesota parent-child study: followed p's from infancy to later adolescence, found continuity between early attachment and later social behaviour, those classed as securely attached as an infant were rated higher in social competency in later childhood and were more popular and empathetic
• A03 1

  
  

  Case studies suggest that children who experience change or frequent change of caregiver potentially along with trauma and chaos in their early interactions of attachment will develop insecure attachment, which is stored in the internal working model negatively, the early interactions with caregivers creates a template in the internal working model that tells us how to behave in future relationships.
• A03 2

  
  

  Evidence from case studies has found that an insecure attachment is characterised by delayed development in social and cognitive skills along with impulsive behaviours.
• A03 3

  
  

  This tells us early interactions continue to effect relationships due to the attachment style we develop and store in the internal working model.
• Support for IWM in childhood friendships ?

  lack of attachment in critical period results in a lack of internal working model and therefore attachment disorder, children who have this have experienced severe neglect or frequent change of caregivers. they have no preferred attachment figure, inability to interact with others and problems relating to others at age five, this shows negative experiences in early attachment influence later childhood relationships in a negative way.
• A03 support for IWM in parenting skills ?

  mothers brought up in care were found to interact poorly with their children, this is because they had no IWM to provide a template for how to look after their children effectively. Harlows monkeys study also demonstrates this as the motherless monkeys in the study did not cradle their own babies
• A03 general evaluation ?

  continuity theory is deterministic, suggests their is no free will or choice and that behaviour is pre-determined despite many children with insecure attachments WILL experience happy adult relationships and friendships. Socially sensitive: it suggests your parents are to blame for how you act in future relationships. Reductionist as believe nature shapes our relationship and behaviour and ignores the role of nurture and social influence