Influence of early attachment on later relationships- A03
- Created by: MollyL20
- Created on: 13-12-20 12:08
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- Influence of early attachment on later relationships- A03
- Evidence on continuity of attachment type is mixed
- Internal working models predict continuity between the security of an infants attachment and that of its later relationships. Evidence for this continuity is mixed.
- Some studies (McCarthy) does appear to support continuity and so provide evidence to support the model
- However, not all studies support the model, fo example, Zimmerman (2000) assessed infant attachment type and adolescent attachment to parents
- This is a problem because it is not what would expect if internal working models were important in development
- Most studies have issues of validity
- Most studies of attachment to PCG and other significant people do not make use of the strange situation but assess infant-parent attachment by means of interviews or questionnaires
- This creates validity problems. First, assessment relies on self-report techniques to assess the quality of those relationships. The validity of questionnaires and interviews is limited because they depend on honesty and having a realistic view of this own relationships
- A related problem concerns the retrospective nature of assessment of infant attachment.
- Looking back into adulthood at ones early relationships to a primary attachment figure probably lacks validity because it relies on accurate recollection
- Association doesn't mean causality
- In those studies where infant attachment the is associated with the quality of later relationships the implication is that infant type causes the attachment
- However, there are alternative explanations for the continuity that often exists between infants and later relationships
- A third environmental factor such as parenting style might have had a direct effect on both attachment and the child's ability to form relationships with others. Alternatively the child's temperament may influence both infant attachment and the quality of later relationships
- This is a limitation because it is counter to Bowlby's views that the internal working model caused these later outcomes
- Evidence on continuity of attachment type is mixed
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