EFFECTS OF EARLY EXPERIENCE AND
CULTURE ON ADULT RELATIONSHIPS
To read up on the effects of early experience and culture on adult relationships, refer
to pages 136–144 of Eysenck’s A2 Level Psychology.
Ask yourself
 Does the parent–child relationship shape all future relationships?
 How do interactions with peers affect later relationships?
 How do relationships vary across cultures?
 What are the essential differences between arranged marriages and those
based on choice? What problems are there in assessing whether one is more
“successful” than the other?
What you need to know
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EARLY THE NATURE OF RELATIONSHIPS IN
ATTACHMENT AND ADULT
DIFFERENT CULTURES
PASSIONATE LOVE

The effect of early attachment and
peer relationships on adult
relationships

Cross-cultural differences such as
variations between individualistic
(Western) and collectivist
(Eastern) cultures
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EARLY ATTACHMENT AND ADULT PASSIONATE LOVE
You will hopefully recall the attachment types identified by Ainsworth and Bell’s Strange Situation,
covered in the AS course, and Bowlby’s concept of the internal working model, which predicts that early
attachment shapes later adult relationships. Securely attached people were trusting, confident, and had
stable relationships; those who were anxious-resistantly attached were uncertain and insecure in their
relationships; those who were avoidantly attached were detached and unresponsive in adult relationships.
Those who were securely attached believed in true love whereas the insecure did not; the insecurely
attached were more likely to divorce than the securely attached.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EARLY ATTACHMENT AND
ADULT ROMANTIC LOVE
 Schwartz et al. (2006, see A2 Level Psychology page 137) provide an
explanation for the inability of those with insecure attachment type to form
successful adult relationships. They suggest that the emotional responses of
lust, romantic love, and attachment are extremely similar to the emotional
responses of anxiety and fear. They all involve activation of the sympathetic
nervous system and so increase heart and breathing rates. The secure types
would interpret the activation as excitement and anticipation, whereas the
insecure types would interpret the activation as anxiety, stress, and fear.
 Freud’s theory of psychosexual development explains how early childhood
experience can shape adult relationships. The phallic stage of psychosexual
development is the key influence because in this stage boys experience the
Oedipus complex and girls experience a complex that corresponds to their




gender. According to Freud, young boys under 4 focus their libidinal desires
mainly with the mother; boys desire their mother and see their father as a
love rival. This conflict is resolved through identification with the father
during the phallic stage (4–7 years), when the boy internalises the male
gender role. Freud initially ignored female gender development, but when he
did consider it he suggested the female conflict is based on penis envy, the
girl’s desire for the father, and rivalry with the mother. The conflict is
resolved through identification with the mother and internalisation of the
female gender role. Freud suggests this affects later adult relationships
because the parents will either provide a happy, loving, and nurturing model
or an abusive, controlling, and unhappy model for future relationships as
adults. The early relationship provides schemas (knowledge stored in
memory) and scripts (ways to behave) of emotionally close relationships.
Freud suggests that if a child lacked a parental model in the phallic stage,
they would lack confidence in their sexual identity as an adult and so be
uncomfortable in relationships with the opposite sex, and might avoid them
altogether.
Ehrensaft et al.’s (2003, see A2 Level Psychology page 138) 20-year
longitudinal study found that children who witness interparental violence
and experience excessive punishments are likely to use violent behaviour to
resolve conflicts with close emotional partners in adulthood.
Erikson (1968, 1980, see A2 Level Psychology page 138) suggested a stage
theory of psychological development with the individual experiencing a life
crisis at each stage. At adolescence the life crisis needing resolution is one of
identity versus confusion. The crisis affects later adult relationships because
resolution of it results in an integrated person with a strong personal and
sexual identity, thus a lack of resolution could lead to inadequacy in adult
relationships.
Levinson (1978. 1986, see A2 Level Psychology page 138) suggests
adolescence is a time of transition and exploration of personal possibilities
including sexuality. “The Dream” will develop, which is the adolescent’s
personal construct of where in life they are going, and hence the type of
relationships this involves.
Gould (1978, 1981, A2 Level Psychology page 138) sees adolescence as a time
when childhood false assumptions need to be challenged if the person is
going to have a successful adult life. The main false assumption is the child’s
belief in their parents as omnipotent, and the parental world as the only
correct one. The adolescent needs to achieve independence and accept
differences to their childhood world, and so overcome a form of separation
anxiety, to achieve successful adult relationships.
EVALUATION
 Gender bias. Freud, Erikson, Levinson, and Gould can be criticised because
their research is androcentric, being based on males, male development, and




the male world. Thus, we can question how well their explanations
generalise to females.
Cannot be tested. The psychodynamic concepts cannot be operationalised
(i.e. measured; how do you measure penis envy or how much a life crisis has
been resolved?) and so this means they cannot be tested. Consequently,
Freud’s theory lacks empirical validity because the theory cannot be verified
or falsified.
Self-report criticisms. The research is based mainly on qualitative and
retrospective data from questionnaires. Thus, it may be biased by researcher
and participant effects, and because it is retrospective the participants’ recall
may be inaccurate, thus there are a number of threats to validity.
Strong scientific evidence. The Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Parents
and Children (Collins & van Dulmen, 2005 , see A2 Level Psychology page
139) began in 1976. Data has been collected 23 times from birth to early
adulthood. Methods used included observations, interviews, ratings from
teachers and parents, written tests, school records, and public sources.
Multiple measures were taken: parent and child characteristics, behaviours,
interactions with significant others, and current environmental
circumstances. The results showed a relationship between attachment and
later social development. Securely attached infants had closer friendships as
adolescents and were more emotionally attached to their romantic partners
in early adulthood.
Correlational evidence. The research is correlational not causal and so we
can only link early childhood experiences to later adult relationships rather
than establishing if the early childhood experience have causal effects on
later adult relationships. Thus, conclusions are limited to associations only.
Peer interactions
In adolescence, powerful voluntary relationships form and rival, if not exceed,
family relationships in terms of importance. Adolescent romantic relationships play
a key part in development and have an enormous effect on well-being.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON PEER INTERACTIONS
 Zani (1993, see A2 Level Psychology page 139 ) reported that about 25% of
12-year-olds have had an important romantic relationship in the past year,
and for 18-year-olds this went up to over 70%. There are negatives because
mood swings and conflict can result but being in a relationship increases the
sense of self-worth. It also raises the respect given to those in the
relationship from their peers.
 A longitudinal study in Germany (Seiffge-Krenke & Lany, 2002) showed a
causal link between the quality of romantic relationships in middle
adolescence and commitment in other relationships in adulthood.
 Connelly et al. (2004) suggest peer networks and early pairings are
reciprocally beneficial because the peer networks support early pairings and
the pairings can expand the peer networks.
Joyner and Campa (2005) found single-gender peer interaction in middle
childhood is highly predictive of functioning successfully in later mixedgender peer groups and also of having successful romantic relationships as a
young adult. The middle childhood experiences give a strong sense of gender
identity and this confidence enhances adult relationships.
EVALUATION
 Strong research evidence. The amount and variety of research on the peer
group provides indisputable evidence of its influence on adult relationships.
 Researcher bias. Much research is vulnerable to researcher expectancy
effects and bias in the interpretation of qualitative data, both of which may
limit the truth, and so internal validity, of research.
 Self-report criticisms. Participant effects such as demand characteristics
and social desirability may bias the research and so threaten validity.
 Advantages of peer interaction. The research evidence on the beneficial
effects of the peer group, such as sense of belonging and self-confidence,
leads to the conclusion that peer group integration is very important to
psychological well-being and successful assimilation of adult roles, and so
research has the potential for positive applications.
 Multi-perspective. The problem with any research on social factors such as
peer interaction is that this tends to ignore the internal factors, such as
personality and genetic predisposition, and so doesn’t account for individual
differences. Thus, whilst it is important to recognise the importance of peer
interactions, a multi-perspective is needed to fully understand the many
factors that influence adult relationships.
 Correlational evidence. The research is correlational not causal and so we
can only link peer interactions to later adult relationships rather than
establishing if the peer interactions have causal effects on later adult
relationships. Thus, conclusions are limited to associations only.
 Culture bias. Research on peer relationships is Western biased as kin
relationships are more important in collectivist cultures and so the findings
may have limited generalisability.

THE NATURE OF RELATIONSHIPS IN DIFFERENT CULTURES
Much of the cross-cultural research in social psychology is based on a difference
outlined by Hofstede (1984) between individualistic and collectivist cultures.
Western cultures are considered individualistic; most Eastern nations are
considered to be collectivist. Individualistic nations emphasise self-interest and the
interest of one’s immediate family, personal autonomy (making your own
decisions), and individual initiative, achievement, and independence. Collectivist
cultures emphasise loyalty to the group, interdependence, and the belief that group
decisions are more important than individual ones.
In terms of relationships, the table below summarises some of the important
differences between Western and Eastern cultures:
Romantic love
There is a strong tendency for members
of individualistic societies to regard
romantic love as the main basis for
marriage, while collectivist cultures put
little emphasis on its importance.
Friendship
People in individualistic cultures have
more friends than do those in collectivist
cultures, but these friendships tend to be
more superficial.
Voluntary/involuntary relationships
In non-Western cultures, arranged
marriages are common and are based on
social status. In individualistic cultures,
the individual chooses their own partner,
usually on the basis of romantic love.
Permanent/impermanent
relationships
Divorce is tolerated far more in some
cultures than in others, but it is a fallacy
that it is increasing in all societies; in
some the rates are dropping
substantially.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE
 Jankowiak and Fischer’s (1992, see A2 Level Psychology page 140) crosscultural study of 166 different societies found that in over 86% of them there
was a belief in romantic love and relationships, showing that this is not a
Western construct but more of a universal belief.
 The perceived importance of emotional relationships comes from Endo,
Heine, and Lehman’s (2000, see A2 Level Psychology page 140) study, which
found that viewing one’s own important relationships as more positive than
those of one’s peers is a feature of Japanese, Asian–Canadian, and European–
Canadian participants.
 Kephart (1967, see A2 Level Psychology page 141) studied attitudes to love
by asking participants “If a boy (girl) had all the other qualities you desired,
would you marry this person if you were not in love with him (her)?”. The
same question was asked in 10 countries, and the percentage of negative
answers varies from 85.9% in the USA and 85.7% in Brazil, to 24.0% in India.
 Levine et al. (1995, see A2 Level Psychology page 141) tested participants
using the same question as the above study in Thailand and Japan. The
percentages of respondents in these two countries who said they would not
marry someone they did not love were 33.8 and 62.6%, respectively, which
were lower than that for the United States.
 In the USA, Asian–American adolescents are not as likely as other racialethnic groups to have had a romantic relationship in the last 18 months,
compared to African–American, Hispanic, Native, and Caucasian groups
(Carver, Joyner, & Udry, 2003).



Giordano (2003) analysed data from the Toledo Adolescent Longitudinal
Study and found that Caucasian youths experienced more awkwardness in
romantic relationships than boys from other ethnic groups. However, all
cultures reported some awkwardness and becoming more emotional when
interacting with relationship partners.
Murry et al. (2004, see A2 Level Psychology page 142) found the selection of
romantic partners and the activities approved within the relationship are
culture-dependent. In all the ethnic groups studied there was a close match
between parent–adolescent relationship quality and adolescent romantic
relationship quality. The higher levels of parental monitoring of their
adolescent children correlated with the adolescents’ higher self-esteem and
consistently predicted higher quality romantic relationships.
Rothbaum et al. (2002, see A2 Level Psychology page 142) studied the family
systems in US and Japanese samples, in particular focusing on the overly
close enmeshed mother–child relationship, which the theory considers
unhealthy. Traditionally, Japanese culture promotes an intensely close
mother–child bond, which is predicted to negatively affect later relationships
because the child is too emotionally dependent on the mother. However,
healthy romantic and emotional attachments were found in the Japanese as
adults.
EVALUATION OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WESTERN AND NON-WESTERN
RELATIONSHIPS
 Comparisons are rather simplistic. The divide between collectivist and
individualistic cultures is rather crude and the differences are not entirely
clear-cut. For example, even in cultures in which marriages are arranged
there is some degree of individual choice (they are not forced marriages),
and in individualistic societies parents and social groups do have a strong (if
more subtle) influence on people’s choice of marriage partner.
 Ethnocentrism. The family systems theory is guilty of ethnocentrism,
because it is biased in favour of Western culture and against non-Western
cultures. The negative effects of the enmeshed mother–child bond may be
valid for the West, but should not be applied automatically to other cultures,
as any such generalizations may lack validity. The concept of the enmeshed
family acts as an imposed etic, as it is based on Western norms and values
and so can provide only biased insights into other cultures where norms and
values differ.
 Cross-cultural research is riddled with problems. It is very difficult for
psychologists from one culture to appreciate the complexities of another
culture. Ethnocentric bias as detailed above is difficult to avoid. There may
also be problems with translation; findings can be misunderstood due to this,
and there is also the problem of researcher bias as the expectancy effect can
lead researchers to see and interpret what they expect to find; all of which
limit the truth of research and so reduce internal validity.



Small samples. Another limitation is that much research has small samples
due to the practical difficulties of researching in a different culture. For
example, Levine et al.'s (1995) study had a small sample size within each
country, from 71 to 156. Thus, generalisability is an issue.
Differences within rather than between cultures. Some research has
considered the different sub-cultural groups within cultures, but much does
not. Cultures are not unitary, they consist of many different groups with
differing norms and values. Thus, any samples of a culture may not fully
represent the various sub-cultures within that culture.
Cultural relativism is difficult to achieve. Cultural relativism refers to fully
considering behaviour in terms of the norms and values of the culture it
originates within. However, this is difficult to do in practice because
researchers are restricted by their own ethnocentrism and expectations,
which are difficult to disregard even if they intend to take a value-free
approach.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The types of relationships studied by Western psychologists are very biased. The
emphasis is on initial attraction, friendships, and long-term sexual relationships, all
of which are important in the mobile, urban, Western world. However, kinship
(family relationships), which is extremely important in all societies but especially
collectivist ones, has received relatively little attention. A more thorough crosscultural perspective on interpersonal relationships would contribute greatly to a
sensitive understanding of the nature and importance of such relationships both
within and between cultures.
OVER TO YOU
1. Discuss the effects of early attachment and peer interactions on later adult
relationships. (25 marks)
2. Discuss the nature of relationships in different cultures. (25 marks)
3. Use the nature of relationships in different cultures to assess research into
social relationships. (16 marks)