Attachment (NEW VERSION)

Claims - attachment is a close, two-way emotional bond between individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security. Attachment in humans takes a few months to develop.

Components - attachment can be seen when people display the following behaviours:

Proximity - people try to stay physically close to those they are attached to.

Seperation distress - people are distressed when an attachment figure leaves their presence.

Secure-base behaviour - we have the need to make regular contact with attachment figures, even when we are independent of them. Infants display a secure base when they regularly return to them while playing.

Reciprocity

Babies have meaningful social interactions from an early age. This is with their carers. They are believed to be important for social development caregiver-infant attachments. Babies also have 'alert phases' which are periodic and signal to their carers that they are ready for interaction.

From around 3 months, their interactions are frequent and focus on paying attention to each other's verbal signals and facial expressions. These are expressions such as smiling and verbal signals such as cooing.

Their interactions are reciprocal and respond to each other and produce a response. Both mother and child initiate the interactions and take it in turns to do so. It can be referred to as a dance as they respond to each others moves. The mothers and babies actions mirror each other when they interact. They are said to be synchronised as they carry out the same actions simultaneously.

Interactional synchrony

This is defined as 'temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour'. It ia where the mother and infant interact in a way where their behaviours, actions and emotions mirror each other's. It is believed to be important for the development of mother-infant attachment. They will do actions and gestures at the same time as each other.

Role of the father

There is a debate as to how important fathers are in a child's development and whether they have a distinct role. It is argued that they have a different role in attachment - one that is more to do with play and stimulation of the child than nurturing.

Evidence to suggest fathers are not important in attachment

MacCallum and Golombok found that children growing up in single or same-sex parent families do not develop any differently from those in two-parent heterosexual families.

Evidence to suggest fathers are important in attachment

Field found that fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure. The key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent.

Supporting - there is research evidence to prove the existence of interactional synchrony. An example of this is Meltzoff and Moore, who investigated interactional synchrony in infants by observing 2-3 week old infants. Adults showed one of three facial expressions and the reactions of the babies were recorded. They found an association between the expression/gesture made by the adult and the babies action. This shows that the higher levels of interactional synchrony, the better quality of mother-infant attachment.

Many studies have shown similar patterns of interaction between mothers and infants. This is consistent between different pieces of research and researchers. This is therefore a strength because it shows that babies imitate and reciprocate the actions of their mothers, and many researchers have found this.

Observations of mother-infant interactions are well controled. For example, they usually take place in a lab and are often filmed or have two researchers present. This is a strength because it alows for inter-rater reliability anf objective replication of the studies.

Many actions that are being displayed are simple movements. For example, many of the actions are simple hand movements or changes in facial expressions. Therefore, this is a weakness because we are unsure if an infant is deliberately imitating the adult or if it is an unconscious/reflex reaction.

There is inconsistent findings from research into the role of the father, mainly because researchers are interested in, and try to answer different questions. For example, 'the role of the father as a secondary attachment figure' and 'the role of the father as a primary attachment figure'. This proves to be a problem when determining a specific role of the father.

Aim - to investigate the fromation of early attachments, specifically the age at which they are developed, their emotional intensity, at who they are directed.

Procedure - they used 60 babies, 31 boys and 29 girls. All of the babies were matched in terms of their social class and where they were from; skilled working class and Glasgow. Over the course of the studies, researchers went to the homes of the mother and baby to ask questions about the kind of protest that was displayedby the baby is a range of everyday separations in order to investigate infant attachment. There were seven separations that were discussed such as, what happens when the adult leaves the room. Researchers also assessed stranger anxiety and their response to unfamiliar adults. The visits took place each month for the first year then again at 18 months.

Findings - Between 25-32 weeks of age, approximately 50% of the babies displayed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adult, usually the mother. Attachment was generally to the caregiver who was the most sensitive and interactive to their signals and facial expressions. This didn't however, have to be the person that they spent the most time with. By 40 weeks, 80% of babies formed a specific attachmnt and approximately 30% displayed multiple attachments.

Conclusion - Half of the infants showed specirfic attachments. This shows reciprocity. Half of the infants tend to form attachments by 25 weeks therefore they can be formed early on their emotional intensity and at who they are directed. Specific attachments can be formed early on, from approximately 5-6 weeks, multiple attachments can be formed bt generally these happen later, after they are three years old.

They used a large sample size. For example, they used 60 children, both boys ad girls. Therefore is quite representative. 

The procedure was standardised. For example there was same number of visits, same observations, locations of observations etc. Therefore the procedure can be replicated therefore it is reliable.

The study has applications to the real world. For example, it has increased understanding of anxiety experienced by children in pre-school/childminders. Therefore, this is a strength because it has had useful applications.

The mother was fully informed, therefore they had informed consent. No ethical guidelines were broken.

They were all from one place and from the same social class. All children were skilled working class and from glasgow, therefore findings cannot be generalised to other classes and areas.

Can be argued that it was unethical as it caused distress to the infant. For example, purposefully inflicting separation anxiety to infant.

The data was collected by direct observations or from the mothers, with both sources prone to bias and inaccuracy. .

Stage 1 - Asocial - 0-8 weeks:

• Behaviour betwen humans and non-human objects is quite similar.
• Recognise specific faces.
• Happier in presence of humans than when alone.
• Preference for familiar individuals.
• Prefer faces to non-faces.
• Smile at anyone.

Stage 2 - Indiscriminate attachment - 2-7 months:

• Recognise and prefer familiar people.
• Smile more at familiar than unfamiliar faces.
• Preference for people rather than inanimate objects.
• Accept comfort from any adult.

Stage 3 - Specific Attachments - 7-12 months:

• Primary attachment to one particular individiual (the person who shows most sensitivity)
• Show stranger anxiety.
• Show seperation anxiety.
• Use familiar adults as a secure base.

Stage 4 - Multiple Attachments - 1 year onwards:

• Form secondary attachments with familiar adults with whom they spend time

Animal research looks at the formation of bonds between non-human parents and their offrspring. It is believed that attachment, like behaviours, can be seen amongst a range of species and animal studies can help us to understand attachment. Animal research into attachment is conducted for many reasons:

Ethical reasons

We cannot ethically separate human infants from their mothers, there may be long lasting effects of our research on humans, gaining participants as mothers are generally unwilling to take part.

Practical reasons

Animals breed faster than humans, therefore we can see results across generations of animals. It is easier and quicker to conduct this research, and animals can be stored easily.

Aim - to investigate impriting and attachment, using geese.

Procedure -  He took a clutch of eggs, and kept half of them until they were about to hatch. When they were ready to hatch, he placed half with their mother, and kept the other half with him. They were placed in an incubator, and when they hatched, Lorenz was the first moving object they saw. He imitated a mother duck's quack, and the birds regarded him as their mother and treated him accordingly.

Findings - The incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere, whereas the control group, hatched in the presence of their mother, followed her. When the two groups were mixed up, the experimental group continued to follow Lorenz, and the control group continued to follow the mother duck.

To ensure imprinting had occured, Lorenz put all the goslings together under an upturned box and allowed them to mix. When the box was removed the two groups seperated to go to their respective 'mothers' - half to the goose, half to Lorenz. This is therefore a strength because it shows that even when he 'mixed up' the geese, the ones which had imprinted on him still came to him, even though they had the choice to go to their mother.

The fact that imprinting only occurs within a brief, set time period influenced Bowlby's idea of a critical period in human babies, which is a specific time period within which an attachment between infant and carer must form.

The fact that goslings imprinted onto humans exhibited sexual advances to humans when adults birds shows the importance of the behaviour upon future relationships, something that Bowlby incorporated into his continuity hypothesis.

Imprinting has consequences, both for short term survival and in the longer term forming internal templates for later relationships. Imprinting occurs without any feeding taking place. If no attachment has developed within 32 hours, it's unlikely that any attachment will ever develop.

There are issues with generalising the findings from birds to humans. Mammalian attachment may be very different to that of humans. E.g. they may be able to form attachments at any time, not just in infancy.

Aim - to test the learning theory by comparing attachment behaviour in baby monkeys given a wire surrogate producing mik with those given soft towelling mother producing no milk.

Procedure - he made two different types of surrogate mother: a harsh wire mother, and a soft towelling mother. 16 baby monkeys were used, four in each of the following conditions: a cage with a wire mother producing milk and a towelling mother producing no milk, a cage with a wire mother producing no milk and a towelling mother producing milk, a cage with a wire mother producing milk, a cage with a towelling mother producing milk. The amount of time spent with each mother and the amount of feeding time was recorded. Monkeys were frightened with a loud noise to test which mother preference they had during times of stress. He also used a larger cage to test for the monkeys' degree of exploration.

Findings - monkeys preferred the towelling mother when given the choice of surrogate mothers, regardless of whether or not it produced milk. They even stretched across to the wire mother to feed, whilst still clinging onto the towelling mother. Those that only had the wire mother showed signs of stress (diarrhoea). When the loud noise was present, all monkeys clung to the towelling mother when she was available. In the larger cage, those who had a towelling mother explored more and visitted their surrogate mother more often.

Conclusion - rhesus monkeys have an innate, unlearned need for contact comfort, suggesting that emotional security is more important than food. Contact comfort is also more associated with lower stress levels and willingness to explore, again showing emotional security.

Caused unnecessary distress, for example causing the monkeys to have diarrhoea. This makes the study unethical and cruel.

Animal was reared in a lab therefore may not be generalisable to wild monkeys.

Drawing conclusions across species, for example using monkeys to draw conclusions about human attachment. Cannot easily be generalised.

The experiment was done in a lab therefore there were controlled conditions. This makes the study reliable as it is more likely that we can replicate it.

Animals breed quicker than humans therefore it is quicker to draw conclusions from them.

Harlow used Rhesus monkeys, which are considered similar enough to humans to generalise the findings.

Classical Conditioning

This type of conditioning relies on associations between stimuli - we learn that two things occur together. This type of conditioning considers the learning of reflex behaviour.

They key stimuli are neutral stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus.

They key responses are no response, unconditioned response and conditioned response.

In attachment, food serves as the UCS. Being fed gives us pleasure. Pleasure is the UCR, because it is reflexive, babies don't need to learn this. A caregiver is a neutral stimulus, as they do not produce any response in the beginning. When they provide food over time, they become associated with the food. The baby will expect food when they see the caregiver. This is when the the caregiver becomes a CS. Once conditioning has taken place, the sight of the caregiver produces a conditioned response of pleasure.

Operant conditioning
In this type of conditioning, we learn that behaviours are determined by their consequences. It is a type of learning in which future behaviour is determined by the consequences of past behaviour. This type of conditioning considers the learning of voluntary behaviour. The rewards and consequences of a behaviour could either strengthen or weaken a response. There are positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers and punishers. For example, operant conditioning can explain why babies cry for comfort. Crying leads to a response from the caregiver, for example feeding. As long as the caregiver provides the correct response, crying is reinforced. The baby then directs crying for comfort towards the caregiver who responds with comforting, social suppressor behaviour.
Drive reduction
Learning theory also focusses on drive reduction: primary and secondary drives. Primary drives are innate, biological motivators, for example hunger. We are motivated to eat in order to reduce the hunger drive. A secondary drive is the association between a stimuli and the satisfaction of the primary drive.

Opposing research - Schaffer and Emerson investigated the formation of early attachments in 60 babies in Glasgow. They found that attachment was generally to the caregiver who was the most sensitive and interactive to their signals and facial expressions. This shows that the main caregiver didnt have to be the person they spent the most time with or the person who fed them, showing that food is not the most important factor in attachment.
Many aspects of human development are concerned with/affected by conditioning, for example, it is suggested that people develop phobias through being conditioned to expect fear with a specific stimulus. Therefore, this is a strength because it suggests that this could also be the case for attachment.
The association between the primary caregiver and providing comfort and social interaction is a major part of what builds attachment. For example, babies learn to associate comfort and interaction with people who care for them and who they can trust. Therefore, this is a strength because it suggests that classical conditioning must be at least part of the basis for attachment.
The learning theory ignores other factors associated with forming attachment. For example, it fails to acknowledge any factors other than food and conditioning, such as who is the most interactive with the child. Therefore, it may not be the most valid explanation.
If attachment developed solely as a result of feeding, there would be no purpose for the complex interactions that we see in everyday lives and the quality of infant-caree interactions. Therefore, there must be another factor other than food involved in attachment.

Bowlby rejected the Learning Theory explanation of attachment because it does not explain why babies can attach to people who do not feed them. Instead he proposed an evolutionary explanation. Bowlby believed that attachment is an innate system that gives infants a survival advantage, that by attaching to a caregiver and staying close to them can help them to survive potential threats. He was influenced by the work of Lorenz and Harlow.
Monotropy
Bowlby emphasised the importance of a child's attachment to one particular caregiver. The childs attachment to this caregiver is different and more important than others. The main caregiver is usually the mother but this does not need to be the biological mother. The more time that is spent with the primary attachment figure, the better. There are two reasons for this: law of continuity = the more constant and predictable a childs care is, the better quality attachment they form, and the law of accumulated separation = every time the child is separated from the mother, the effect adds up. The more separation they have, the worse.
Social releasers and the critical period
Babies are born with cute behaviours that are innate, for example cooing, smiling and babbling. These behaviours are called social releasers because they grip attention from adults and their purpose is to activate the adult's attachment system. This is seen to be a reciprocal process. The critical period is when the infant system is active, at around two years. This is the period after birth where they are best adapted to form attachments. Bowlby believed that if attachment wasnt formed by this age, the child will find ir more difficult to form one later in life.
Internal working model
The child develops a mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver. It is model for what relationships should be like. It can have a large impact on a child's future relationsgips because it can shape their opinions of relationships in later life.

Aim - to investigate individual differences in atachment, and the security of attachment in one to two year olds using 'the strange situation'.

Procedure - the strange situation is a controlled observation procedure that takes place in a laboratory. The experiment is set up in a small room with one way glass for the behaviour of the infant to be observed covertly by psychologists. Infants were aged between 12-18 months. The sample was made up of 100 middle class American families. The behaviour of infants is observed and scored using the 'Strange Situation Classifications':

• Proximity Seeking - an infant with good attachment will stay fairly close to the caregiver.
• Exploratio and secure-base behaviour - good attachment enables child to feel confident to explore, using caregiver as secure base.
• Stranger anxiety - displays a close attachment as the child will be anxious when a stranger approaches
• Separation anxiety - this displays a close attachment as the child will protest when they are separated from caregiver.
• Response to reunion - the response after to a short period of separation.

The procedure had seven episodes, each of which last three minutes: child is encouraged to explore, a strange comes in and tries to interact with child, caregiver leaves child and stranger together, caregiver returns and stranger leaves, caregiver leaves child alone, stranger returns, caregiver returns and is reunited with child.

Findings - Ainsworth identified three main attachment styles:

Secure (type B) - these children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver. They usually show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety. Securely attached children require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage. About 60-75% of British toddlers are classified as secure.

Insecure-avoidant (type A) - these children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. They show little or no reaction when the caregiver leaves and they make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns. They also show little stranger anxiety. They do not require contact at the reunion stage. About 20-25% of toddlers are classified as this.

Insecure-resistant (type C) - these children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less. They show huge stranger and separation distress but they resist comfort when reuinted with carer. Around 3% of British toddlers are classified as insecure-resistant.

Conclusion - Ainsworth concluded that these attachment styles were the result of early interactions with the mother. She suggested the 'caregiver sensitivity hypothesis' as an explanation for different attachment types. This argues that a child's attahment style is dependent on the behaviour their mother shows towards them.

The sample was a biased sample. For example, it was made up of 100 middle-class American participants. Therefore, the results are not representitive of the entire world population, as it cannot be applied to those who are not from America and those who are not middle class. This is therefore a weakness as we cannot apply the results to everyone.

The behavioural characteristics were well set out and documented. They were standardised, for example the behaviour that could be expected when a stranger enters the room was well explained, so that everyone would be looking for the same characteristics. This is therefore a strength because it allows for replication, making the study reliable.

The study can be applied to real life events, such as when children are left at nursery. For example, it can explain why children show distress when their parents leave them at nursery for the first time. Therefore, this is a strength because it can help practioners to understand different methods of working with children.

The strange situation is an artificial way of assessing attachment. For example, it is based in a laboratory, therefore many things can be controlled such as the fact that the mother/stranger are acting a certain way based on a script. Thereofre, the study lacks ecological validity.

The study can be seen as unethical. For example, it purposefully causes distress to the children by asking their parents to leave the room, or forcing them to be with strangers, in order to see their reaction. This is therefore a weakness as it breaks the protection to participants ethical guideline.

Brofenbrenna found that infants' attachment is much stronger in a laboratory due to the strangeness of the environment, so you can be sure you are accurate in which behaviours are being measured. This strengthens internal validity.

Aim - to investigate cultural variations of attachment, and to investigate the number of type A,B, and C attachments across a range of countries.

Procedure - the researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies from 8 countries where the strange situation had been used to investigate mother-child attachment. 15 of the studies were conducted in the USA, 1,990 Strange Situation Classifications and results from 1230 children were used.

Findings - in all countries, secure attachment was the most common classification. The proportion of those classified as type B did vary however, between countries: 75% in Britain, 50% in China. Insecure resistant was the least common type. This ranged from 3% in Britain to 30% in Israel. Insecure avoidant was most commonly observed n Germany, and least commonly in Japan.

Conclusion - there is a difference in the pattern of attachment types across countries. Overall, the patterns of attachment were that to what Ainsworth found. Secure attachment seems to be the norm in a wide range of cultures.

Most secure = Britain (75%)

Second most secure = Sweden (74%)

Least secure = China (50%)

Most insecure-avoidant = Germany (35%)

Second most insecure-avoidant = Holland (26%)

Least insecure-avoidant = Japan (5%)

Most insecure-resistant = Israel (29%)

Second-most insecure-resistant = Japan (27%)

Least insecure-resistant = Britain (3%)

One problem is that many of the studys used in the meta-analysis had biased samplies which cannot claim to be representative of each culture. For example, only 36 infants were used in the Chinese study which is a very small sample size for such a populated samples. Also, most of the studies analysed were from Western countries.

As the resarchers undertook secondary research and not primary, there may be interpretation bias. For example, if they thought that a certain country would have had more securely attached children, they may have interpreted the data they collected from other studies in a biased way, meaning that their meta-anaylsis would lack validity.

The strange situation was created and tested in the USA, which means that it may be culturally biased. For example, it will reflect the norms and values of American culture. This is a problem as it assumes that attachment behaviour has the same meaning in all cultures, when in fact cultural perception and understanding of behaviour differ greatly.

The meta-anaylsis was standardised as it had strict criteria for including studies in their research. For example, they had to use studies done by using Ainsworth's Strange Situation. This means that the their study is reliable, as it can easily be replicated.

The study can provide answers for how children react to separation in childcare situations such as nurseries and can explain differences in the infants' culture.

It is not unethical to conduct a meta-analysis. This is because all of the research has already been published prior to use in the study. Thereofre, the researchers did not need to gain consent, or brief/debrief the participants. This is therefore a strength of the study as they have not broken any ethical guidelines by doing/publishing their study.

Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis explains what happens if attachments are broken. He argued that disruption of the attachment bond, even short term disruptions result in serious and permanent damage to a child's emotional, social and intellectual development. Disruptions can occur in three ways:

Short term separation - this consists of brief, temporary separations from attachment figures. For example, being left with a babysitter or short stays in hospital. The distress caused by short-term separation is described in terms of the PDD model: protest (immediate reaction to separation involves crying, screaming, kicking, struggling to escape or clinging to the mother - direct outward expression of the child's anger, confusion, fear and bitterness), despair (protest is replaced by a calmer behaviour. Anger and fear is still inwardly felt but there is little response to offers of comfort. The child will comfort themselves instead, by sucking their thumbs etc.) and detachment (the child will respond to people again, but will be much more cautious and wary. Rejection of the caregiver once they return is common).

Long-term deprivation - this involves lengthy of permanent separation from attachment figures. Most commonly this is due to divorce. Long-term deprivation also includes death, imprisonment of a parent and adoption. The consequences of long-term deprivation include: delinquency (petty crime), affectionless psychopathy (prevents people from developing normal relationships, cannot feel guilt etc) and low IQ (children would suffer from mental retardation).

Privation - this concerns children who have never formed an attachment bond. This is more likely to lead to long-lasting damage than separation and deprivation. Most research comes from case studies due to them being rare. An example of privation comes from Genie.

Application - Evidence from Bowlby's theory has had wider implications linked to the health and social care services and education. For example, changes have been made to the health care system such as parents now being able to stay in a bed at hospitals so that they can be near hospitalised children. This is therefore a strength as it has revoltuionised education and health services and has allowed them to improve to prevent the impacts of separation.

Research - Rymer conducted a case study on the famous case of Genie, a girl who was denied human interaction, beaten and strapped to a potty until 13 years of age. She couldn't stand or speak. She received years of therapy and her language ability was measured. He found that her IQ improved from 38 to 74. However, her physical and intellectual abilities deteriorated. This shows that privation has severe and long lasting effects on an individual.

Limitation - There are individual differences in reactions to short term separations. For example, some children, such as securely attached children cope better with separation, and therefore would perhaps not have such serious outcomes from short-term separation. This is therefore a weakness as it suggests that only some children will experience distress and that it is not an effect for all children.

Bowlby often confused privation and deprivation. Despite them being two distinct features, Rutter claimed that the severe lng-term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation is actually much more likely to be the result of privation. There is research evidence with Romanian orphans to back up this claim.

Bowlby's viewpoint that negative effects of maternal deprivation are irreverable seem overstated. This children whose privation experiences were followed by positive experiences made good recoveries, unlike his theory suggests.

Case studies, which many privation research is, are dependent upon retrospective memories that may be selective, incorrect or bias. There is no way of knowing fully and objectively what happened to these children before discovery. Genies mother, for example, gave conflicting evidence/stories of what happened to her daughter.

It is logical that long-term deprivation has a greater negative effect on children's development than short-term separation. For example, according to the hypothesis, short-term separation only causes protest, distress and dispair, whereas long-term deprivation causes low IQ, affectionless psychopathy and delinquency. There is also a lot of research evidence to back this up.

Aim - to investigate whether loving and nurturing care could over turn the effects of private that the children had suffered in Romanian orphanages.

Procedure - they conducted a quasi-experiment with a longitudinal design. The IV was the age of adoption. Three age groups were studied: children adopted before 6 months, children adopted between 6 months and 2 years, and children adopted after 2 years of age. The DV was the children's level of cognitive functioning. 111 Romanian orphans were assessed for height, head circumference and cognitive functioning on arrival in Britain. All children were assessed again at age 4. A control group of 52 British adoptees were also used to decide whether the negative effects were due to separation from carers or the institutional conditions in Romanian orphanages.

Findings - Approx. 50% of Romanian orphans were retarded in cognitive functioning at initial assessment and most were underweight. The control group did not show these defecits. At age 4, the Romanian orphans showed great improvement in physical and cognitive development, with the orphans adopted before 6 months doing as well as the British children.

Conclusion - the negative effects of institutionalisation can be overcome by sensitive, nurturing care. As the British children did not suffer developmental outcomes, it can be seen that separation from carers will not on its own cause negative developmental effects.

Although a lot of useful data has arisen about institutions from these studies, it is possible that the conditions in these particular Romanian orphanages were so bad, the results cannot be generalised to other orphanages and as a consequence, cannot be applied to understanding the impact of better quality institutional care where children experience deprivation. They had poorer standards of care and lower intellectual stimulation for the children.

Many orphan studies prior to this one were questioned in terms of validity due to the children having experiences loss or trauma before being institutionalised. For example, they may have experienced abuse or bereavement. These children were often traumatised by their experiences and it can be hard to isolate the effect of the institution in these cases.

Children were only assessed up to the age of 4 years, so subsequent follow-ups will be required to assess the long-term effects of institutionalisation and the effects of subsequent enriching environments.

Studying the Romanian orphanages has enhanced our understandings of the effects of insitutionalisation. These results have led to improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions today. For example, orphanages and children's homes now avoid large numbers of caregivers for each child and instead ensure that smaller numbers play a central role for each child.

These studies into the Romanian orphans have fewer extraneous variables than other orphan studies. Therefore, it is easier to study the effect of insitutionalisation without confounding variables. These studies have higher internal validity.

The continuity hypothesis sees children's attachment types being reflected in the later relationships. This idea is based on Bowlby's Internal Working Model, where an infant's primary attachment forms a model or template for future relationships. The continuity hypothesis believes that there is continuity between early attachment experiences and later relationships. The quality of a child's first attachment is crucial because this template will affect the nature of future relationships.

Childhood relationships

There is continuity between early attachment styles and the quality of childhood relationships. Children who form attachments early on to each other will not go on to form adult sexual relationships with each other.

Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood. Those who are securely attached tend to form the best quality childhood friendships, whereas insecurely attached tend to have friendship difficulties.

Adult relationships

It is believed that those who are securely attached have the best friendships and romantic relationships in the future. Internal working models also affect the child's ability to parent their own children. People tend to base their parenting style on their internal working model so attachment type tends to be passed on through generations.

Supporting Research - Myron-Wilson and Smith investigated attachment type and bullying involvement using standardised questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11. They found that securely attached children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying, and type A were the most likely to be the victims. Type C children were more likely to be bullies. This shows that type B has the best quality friendships and type C and A had most difficulties.

Early attachment types can be seen to influence the development of individual differences in cognitive ability, emotional repsonses and social skills, all of which influence the quality of later childhood relationships.

The fact that children who form attachments to each other in early life do not generally go on to form adult sexual relationships suggests evidence for an evolutionary anti-incest device that serves to stop related individuals breeding.

Most studies of attachment to primary caregivers and other significant people do not use the Strange Situation, and instead they use questionnaires and interviews. There are a number of issues with this, such as self-report bias, inaccuracies of memory etc.

There are alternative explanations for the continuity that exists. For example, a child's temperament may influence both infant attachment and the quality of later relationships.

Supporting Research - although Schaffer and Emerson found that children tended to have multiple attachments, they also tended to have one primary attachment figure, supportin Bowlby's idea of montropy.

Application - Bowlby's theory of monotropy has been used in everday life. For example, it has been used bt right-wing political figures as scientific proof that women should be at home mothering their children and not at work with their children in day care.

Limitation - Bowlby sees fathers as minor attachment figures, but research suggests that fathers can be attachment figures in their own right (use supporting evidence for role of the father)..

Opposing Research - Bowlby's idea of attachment being a form of human imprinting suggests that mere exposure to another individual is sufficient for an attachment to develop. However, Schaffer and Emerson found that attachments occured mainly with individuals displaying sensitive responsiveness, which goes against this idea.

There is evidence to suggest a sensitive period rather than a critical one. The concept of internal working models have not been supported by empirical evidence and evolutionary theories have later been criticised.

Attachment is universal. There is evidence that children form attachments to the people that care for them