Attachment theory

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1. Para-social relationships originate in early childhood

   • Problems in adult relationships stems from the quality of the attachment that was developed with the primary care giver.
   • insecure attachments are likely to lead to adults who are more likely to engage in para-social relationships
   • insecurely attached people are attaracted to para-social relationships because they make no demands and there is less risk of criticism and dissappointment

2. Attachment and Stalking

   • Keinlen and McCan have suggested that stalking behaviour in adolsescence and adulthood is directly related to insecure attachment.
   • Insecure resistant adults seek approval from celebrrity idols and may try and contact them. Aviodant adults will keep at a distance, but may become aggressive to retaliate against a perceived wrong doing.

3. McCutcheon et al AO2

   • Asked 299 students between 16 and 42 to complete 4 measurements:
     • The celebrity attitude scale
     • Celebrity stalking scale
     • A relationship questionnaire
     • A parent bonding scale
   • they did not find that insecure adult attachment types were more likely to become attached to celebrities , however they did find that those with insecure attachment types were more likely to think that stalking was acceptable
   • And there was a relationship between pathological attachment type and tendency to stalk
   • Evaluation of McCutcheon
     • Advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires.
     • Correlational research cannot assume cause and effect.
     • Not all the measurements had been validated so they might not have been meausering what they were meant to be

4. Torin

   • Measured attachment types of stalkers and compared this to a control group using an adulthood attachment questionnaire and a retrospective childhood attachment questionnaire
   • Found that stalkers were significantly more likely to have an insecure attachment type than the control group.
   • Stalkers generally- not just celebtriy would the same apply.
   • Generally stalking is of someone you have had a real relationship with so results may not apply to celebrity stalking