Hazan & Shaver's 'Love Quiz' (1987)

• What is Hazan & Shaver's 'Love Quiz?'

  The major importance of attachment is the ability to form relationships with people other than your primary attachment figure.

  Bowlby's idea of the internal working model is explored again here to see if there is a link between attachment type and the quality of later relationships.

  Internal working model - The mental representations the child goes on to have later in life as an adult. These include friendships and working relationships but most crucially relationships with romantic partners and the person's own children.
• Aim:

  Hazan and Shaver aimed to investigate the association between attachments and adult relationships.
• Method:

  Research methods - (Two) questionnaires, classic study

  Sampling method - Volunteer sampling
• Procedure:

  They analysed 620 replies to a 'love quiz' printed in an American local newspaper. The quiz had 3 sections. The first assessed respondents' current or most important relationship. The second part assessed general love experiences such as number of partners. The third section assessed attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of three statements best described their feelings.
• Findings:

  • 56% of respondents identified as securely attached
  • 25% of respondents identified as insecure-avoidant
  • 19% of respondents identified as insecure-resistant

  Those reporting secure attachments were the most likely to have good and longer lasting romantic experiences. The avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy.

  The type of attachments you form will have an impact on future relationships (Ainsworth)

  Insecure attachments are associated with fear of intimacy/lack of commitment in adult romantic relationships
• Conclusion:

  These findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships.