Bowlby’s monotropic theory Flashcards
What was Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Attachment is innate and provides a survival advantage
What is monotropy?
The one primary attachment is different and more important than others
What are social releases?
Innate behaviour (e.g. crying, smiling) that elicit adult responses e.g. caring
What is the critical period?
The period after birth in which babies are best adapted to form attachments
What is the internal working model?
The mental representation of the child’s first attachment
What are the two principles of monotropy?
The law of continuity and the law of accumulated separation
What is the law of continuity?
The more constant and predictable a child’s care is, the better quality the attachment is
What is the law of accumulated separation?
The effects of every separation from the primary caregiver adds up and ‘the safest dose is therefore a zero dose’
What effects an infant attaching?
The sensitivity of the primary caregiver
What is the internal working model a template for?
A template for future relationships that is based on don the infant’s primary attachment
What is the effect of the internal working model?
It creates a consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships
What did Schaffer and Emerson’s find?
Although most babes did attach to one person at first, a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
What was Brazelton et al. ‘s procedure>
They observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers then researchers instructed the babies primary attachment figure to ignore the social releasers
What were Brazelton et al.’s findings?
Babies who were previously normally responsive, became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up and became motionless
What was Bailey et al.’s procedure?
They assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their infants and they measured the mothers’ attachment to their own primary attachment inure and the infants’ attachment quality
