3. ASCMI
◦Bowlby’s theory of attachment has a number of parts,
which can be broken down into the following:
◦ A: Adaptive
◦ S: Social Releasers
◦ C: Critical Period
◦ M: Monotropy
◦ I: Internal Working model
4. Bowlby (1958)
• Through the monotropic attachment, the infant would form an
Internal working model.
• This is a template for relationships.
• All the child’s future adult relationships will be based on the
monotropic attachment with the Primary Care Giver
5. Attachment Types
◦Type A = Insecure – Avoidant
◦Type B = Secure
◦Type C = Insecure - Resistant
22%
66%
12%
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Continuity Hypothesis
• If we create an Internal Working model, (that is a template for future
relationships), there should be a relationship between an infant’s
attachment type and their attachment style in later life.
• This is called the Continuity Hypothesis.
11. Hazan & Shaver (1987)
◦Questionnaire in local newspaper asking pps to
describe their relationship with their parents and their
opinions of romantic relationships
◦215 men and 415 women replied to the advert (age
14-82 years)
12.
13. Hazan & Shaver (1987)
• Adult romantic behaviour
• Hazan and Shaver – ‘love quiz’
• Secure (B) = Happy & trusting in relationships. Higher self-
esteem, not afraid of closeness
• Avoidant (A) = Doubtful of the existence of love, feared
closeness, less accepting and forgiving
• Resistant (C) = Emotional extremes of jealousy and passion.
Fall in and out of relationships easily but struggle with ‘true
love’
14. Hazan & Shaver (1987)
◦Securely attached ppt relationships lasted, on
average, twice as long as those classed ‘insecure’
15. Evaluation of Hazan & Shaver
◦ Demand Characteristics
◦ Bias Sample (volunteers)
◦ Retrospective data – memory of childhood?
16. Continuity Hypothesis
◦“Anxiety about attachment issues is the driving force
behind a range of destructive patterns of
communication in intimate relationships”
◦Shaver (1987)
19. Value of Friendship
◦ Allows us to develop our own sense of ‘value’
◦ Popularity
◦ Ability to satisfy others
◦ Close friendship allows you to trust and understand others
◦ Acceptance and being understood
20. Continuity Hypothesis
◦Child’s attachment style may influence their
interactions with peers
◦Peer relationships are important in shaping young
people’s attitudes to adult relationships
21. Hartup et al (1993)
◦Observed child behaviour and questioned parents/teachers
about student interactions
◦Securely attached children:
◦ More popular in nursery
◦ Engage more in social interactions
◦Insecurely attached children:
◦ More reliant on teachers for emotional support
22. Simpson et al (2007)
◦78 pps
◦Longitudinal Study
◦Aim: To find out if primary attachments have an
effect on later peer and intimate relationships
23. Simpson et al (2007)
◦1 Year: Attachment behaviour with PCG
◦6-8 Years: Teachers rated interaction with peers
◦16 Years: PPs describe close friendships
◦Adults: PPs describe Romantic Relationships
24. Simpson et al (2007)
◦Securely attached as infants:
◦Higher Social Competence
◦Closer to friends
◦More emotionally attached to partners
25. Possible Other factors…
◦How can we be sure that an ‘Internal Working Model’
exists?
◦Personality?
◦Learning?
◦Life events?
27. AO3 Reductionist…
◦Just childhood attachments that influence later adult
relationships?
◦Zimmerman (2000) found that child attachment did not predict
adult relationship security…
◦Life events such as parent divorce/death had a much greater
influence on later relationship security
◦Hazan and Shaver’s continuity hypothesis may therefore be seen
as too simplistic and fails to account for other factors.
29. AO3 Deterministic…
◦Theory suggests that our childhood attachment determines the
quality of our future relationships
◦Quinton et al (1999) identified a group of people who had
experienced problematic parent relationships but had gone on to
achieve secure, stable and happy romantic relationships
◦This research suggests that relationship security is not
determined by parent attachment type and secure attachments
in adult relationships can be ‘learned’
