Research support
- Lorenz: studied imprinting in goslings (attach to first moving object they see, usually the mother.) Goslings taken away from mother imprinted on Lorenz because he was the first thing they saw. The 'following around' supports idea that attachment has survival value.
- Hazan and Shaver: published a 'love quiz' collecting information about early attachment experiences and attitudes towards romance. Found individuals who were securely attached infants tended to have happy and lasting love relationships, but insecure types found relationships difficult and were more likely to be divorced. This supports the idea of the continuity hypothesis.
Limitations
- Thomas: suggests monotropy may not be universally true e.g. in Caribbean cultures multiple attachments are the norm. Multiple attachments might be more beneficial for psychological development. Several studies of different cultures have found infants still usually have one primary attachment, suggesting monotropy is not incorrect.
- Rutter et al : studied infants who has been raised in institutions in Eastern Europe prior to adoption. They found that these children could form attachments with their adoptive parents even after they had reached 2½ years of age. This challenges the critical period hypothesis.
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