Internal working model

• A children having their first relationship with their primary attachment figure forms a mental representation of this relationship. This internal working model acts as a template for future relationships.

  If a child has a positive IWM, then they are more likely to trust others and have more enduring relationships.

  If the IWM is negative and the child has an insecure attachment then the child may grow up to fear intimacy and be insecure in their relationships.
• Securely attached children score highly for social competency later in childhood. Harlow's research indicates a link between poor attachment and difficulties in parenting.

  Hazen and Shaver found a link between early attachment type and later relationships.

  The lack of attachment during the critical period results in a lack of the IWM and can affect later social behaviour shown in Rutter with disinhibited attachment.
• Study : Hazen & Shaver

  • looked at link between the type of attachment people developed in infancy and the romantic relationships they had in adulthood
  • a questionnaire advertised as a Love Quiz was printed in the local American newspaper.
  • 620 replies from readers aged 14-82 years old were analysed
  • quiz measured attachment types in infancy, attitudes to peoples most important romantic relationship using multi choice questions and general love experiences such as a number of partners
• Results : Hazen & Shaver

  • there was a positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences
  • securely attached describe love experiences as happy, friendly, trusting
  • insecure avoidant tended to be jealous and feared intimacy
  • insecure resistant worry their partner doesn't really love them and feared abandonment
  • a relationship was found between the conception of love and the IWM
• Research has looked at whether the IWM influences parental relationships. Bailey et al studied 99 mothers.

  Mother and baby attachment was measured via the SSP and mother's attachment to their own mothers was measured using an adult attachment interview. The majority had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers.
• There is a link between attachment type and social competence in peer relationships. Secure tend to have the best quality childhood relationships whereas insecure may have friendship difficulties.

  Roufe et al

  • followed Ps from infancy to late adolescence and found those classed as securely attached in infancy were highest rated for social competence later in life
  • this links to the IWM as securely attached infants have higher expecttions that others are friendly and trusting, thus enabling better relationships
• Attachment type is also linked to bullying behaviour.

  Myron Wilson and Smith gave 196 children from London, aged 7-11, questionnaires assessing attachment type and bullying behaviour.

  Secure - no involvement

  Insecure resistant - likely to be bullies

  Avoidant - more likely to be victims of bullying
• A03

  The evidence is correlation so we cannot claim that insecure attachment cause problems with bullying and quality of friendships during childhood. Therefore there may be other factors involved in this relationship such as later experiences at school, confidence and personality. The temperament hypothesis can also influence the ability to form an initial attachment with the primary caregiver. This is ilkely to influence the quality of the attachment as well as the ability to form later relationships and friendships.
• A03

  Research collected is all retrospective and so this may not be 100% accurate as it can be distorted by memory. Thus the evidence for influence of attachment on later relationships is flawed.
• A03

  The research done by Hazen and Shaver is correlation so we can only claim a link between early attachment type and later relationships. Causation cannot be claimed in Hazen and Shaver's study. There are other experiences that shape later relationships other than early attachment such as the child's temperament or experiences of relationships as we go through adolescence.
• A03

  A limitation with Hazen and Shaver is that it uses self report and retrospective techniques. Ps may not be completely accurate about early childhood experiences and not have a completely accurate perception of their current relationships. This questions data accuracy as it is reliant on memory and the truth of the Ps.
• A03

  Hazen and Shaver

  • provided us with interesting insights about relationships, for e.g. 1994 found that insecure avoidant types are more likely to have 1 night stands and sex outside established relationships and they preferred purely sexual contact rather than emotionally intimate sexual contact
  • useful as it gives us insights into some behaviours we may expect from different people that we may get involved with on a romantic level
  • also given benefit to counselling situations where emotional reactions rooted in childhood can be discussed with a client
• A03

  Not all research supports the IWM and later relationships.

  Main et al found that some adults who had insecure relationships with their parents actually had securely attached children which showed that early attachment is not necessarily deterministic of later relationships and experiences.