AQA Psychology A level Attachment - Outline and evaluate the influence of early attachment on childh

What the spec says: The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships, including the role of an internal working model.

OUTLINE AND EVALUATE THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON CHILDHOOD AND ADULT RELATIONSHIPS

AO1

The first attachment between and child and their primary caregiver (PCG) provides the child with a template or an internal working model which gives them an insight into their CG's behaviour. This helps them build a model of themselves as loveable or not and also a model for future relationships. This internal working model (IWM) begins in early childhood and influences later relationships in adulthood, which is referred to as the continuity hypothesis.

Hazan and Shaver investigated the effects of early attachments on intimate adult relationships. They printed a love quiz in a newspaper which assessed peoples love experiences. They analysed 620 responses from people aged 14-82 and classified people's attachment types based on their descriptions of their childhood experiences. There was a pattern of adult styles of romantic love which was consistent with their attachment style. 56% were securely attached, had a positive IWM and were most likely to have good, longer lasting experiences. 25% were insecure avoidant and tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy meanwhile 19% were insecure resistant. This suggests that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships.

IWMs also affect a child's ability to parent their own children as they base their parenting style on their IWM. Harlow's research with monkeys shows how poor early attachments would be reflected in poor parenting themselves. Also, Quinton et al found that mothers raised in institutions were more likely to struggle as parents. They were less sensitive and supportive than a control group and it suggests that a lack of an IWM provides no template for them to base their own parenting style on.

AO3

The IWM predicts continuity between the security of an infant’s attachments and later relationships. Studies such as McCarthy provide support for continuity as he found that adult women classed as secure in infancy had the best childhood and adult relationships whilst those classed as insecure struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships. Not all studies, however, supp the IWM. Zimmerman assessed infant attachment type and adolescence attachment to parents and found there was very little relationship between the quality of infant and adult attachments. This is a problem because it is not what would be expected if the IWM was important in development and suggests that the IWM may not be as continuous as thought.

Furthermore, there is a problem of validity with many of the studies conducted into childhood and adult attachments. Most studies of attachment to primary caregiver and other people do not use the Strange Situation but rather assess this using questionnaires and interviews. Such methods rely on self-report techniques to assess the quality of those relationships and the validity of questionnaires and interviews may be limited because they depend on pps being honest and having a realistic view about their relationship. Another problem is also the retrospective nature of such methods as many are done in later years and require a person looking back at their infant attachments with caregivers. The heavy reliance on a person’s memory and also expecting pps to be completely honest about their relationship may make the findings in these studies inaccurate and hence reduces their validity.

In studies where infant attachment type is associated with the quality of later relationships the implication is that infant attachment type causes the attachment. However there are alternative explanations for this continuity such as parenting style which might have a direct effect on both attachments and the child’s ability to form relationships with others. Also, the temperament hypothesis (Kagan) sees the quality of adult relationships being determined by innate personal factors. Those securely attached tend to have easy temperaments so it is easier to interact with them as opposed to those who are insecurely attached, having difficult temp and showing unstable behaviour. This goes against Bowlby’s view of the IWM causing these outcomes and instead implies that other factors should be considered when looking at relationships over long periods of time.

It can be argued that this explanation is deterministic as some e.g. Bowlby may have exaggerated the significance of the IWM by suggesting that a lack of it means a person will be unable to form relationships later. Clarke describe the influence of infant attachment on later relationships as probabilistic in that peoplel are not always likely to have bad relationships just because they had bad attachments as an infant. It merely suggests that they have a greater risk of problems however, such problems may only emerge in certain situations and by emphasising this risk we may become too pessimistic about people’s futures. Such research is socially sensitive and can be damaging to a person who has had bad experiences as an infant. It ignores the role of free will as such expectations may be self-fulfilling and lead people to act accordingly when in fact these risks could’ve been avoided if they were no longer in that environment or chose to behave differently to how they were previously treated in relationships.

Useful links

https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/topics/influence-of-early-attachment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4umDVRb1DM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQH4Taus0K4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azsOzZrEG8g