Early attachment on later relationships

• Remembering the PEELs - Influence of early attachment

  1. Correlational research
  2. Retrospective study
  3. Supporting study
  4. Overly deterministic
  5. Real life application
• PEELs - Influence of early attachment

  1. Weakness - research is correlational not experimental and can’t determine a cause and effect relationship between early attachment and later love style

  • weakness with the methodology
• PEELs - Influence of early attachment

  2) Weakness - most studies are retrospective so events may not be remembered accurately

  • results of the study aren’t valid
• PEELs - Influence of early attachment

  3) Strength - supporting study - Simpson et al (2007) found similar findings to Hazan and Schaver.

  • gives empirical evidence
• PEELs - Influence of early attachment

  4) weakness - overly deterministic - not good for insecure attachment types as they are given a sense of doom. Therefore can’t learn from the environment.

  • isn’t a full explanation
• PEELs - Influence of early attachment

  5) Strength - real life application - can be used in therapy to help families who have poor relationships or even individuals struggling with friendships or romantic relationships

  • gains explanatory power
• The internal working model works as a template for future relationships
• The influence of early attachment can affect:

  • childhood friendships
  • poor parenting
  • romantic relationships
  • mental health
• Hazan and Shaver (1987): RM

  Volunteer sampling with a cross sectional design
• Procedure of Hazan and Shaver (1987):

  • Analysed 620 responses to a love quiz in an American newspaper
  • The quiz contained current or most important relationships, general love experiences and questions about attitude torwards love
• Results of Hazan and Shaver (1987):

  Attachment styles were similar to those found in babies

  • 56% secure
  • 25% avoidant
  • 19% resistant
• Results of Hazan and Shaver (1987):

  • secure babies had better love experiences

  relationship lengths

  • 10 years - secure
  • 5 years - resistant
  • 6 years - avoidant
• Conclusion of Hazan and Shaver (1987):

  Found a relationship between the conception of love (internal working model)and attachment type
• Attachment type is correlational with quality of peer relationships in childhood

  • secure babies form the best quality childhood friendships whereas insecure babies have friendship difficulties
• Bullying in childhood - Wilson and Smith(1998):

  • bullying involvement using a standard questionnaire
  • secure children unlikely to be involved
  • insecure -avoidant most likely to be the victim
  • insecure -resistant most likely to be bullies