attachment: bowlbys monotropic theory Flashcards
why did Bowlby reject the learning theory explanation of attachment?
‘were it true, an infant of a year or two should take readily to whomever feeds him and this is clearly not the case’
what is Bowlby’s explanation of attachment based on?
evolution, attachment is an innate mechanism increasing the chance of survival
define montropy
a term used to describe bowlbys theory as he suggested babies have attachment to one specific caregiver.
what are the two key principles of monotropy?
law of continuity, law of accumulated separation
explain the law of continuity
the more constant and predictable a child’s care, the better the quality of their attachment.
explain the law of accumulated separation
the effects of every separation from the mother add up ‘and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose’
what are social releasers? how are they important for attachment formation?
babies instincts e.g crying, smiling which encourage caregiver to look after them, their purpose is to release instinctive behaviour in adults, they show adults have an innate instinct designed to protect their babies from harm
what is the internal working model? how does this affect our later relationships?
the relationship with one special figure (usually mum) gives the infant an internal working model of future relationships (continuity hypothesis), they form either a secure or insecure attachment based on their IWM
define the critical period. what did Bowlby identify as the critical period for humans?
critical period= the time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all. bowlby suggested that if a child doesn’t form an attachment before 2 1/2 years then it wouldn’t be possible ever
what is the difference between the critical and sensitive period? when did Bowlby say was the sensitive period?
bowlby suggested critical period around two years when the infant attachment system is active. in fact Bowlby viewed this as more of a sensitive period. a child is maximally sensitive at the age of two but, if an attachment is not formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later.
how does attachment give babies a survival advantage?
babies born biologically pre-programmed to form attachments as they provide them with safety and living needs
ao3: what supporting evidence is there from animal studies? how is this a strength of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Lorenz gosling experiment supports the idea of attachments being innate
ao3: outline Hazan + Shaver’s (1987) research findings. How does this provide support for the internal working model?
the love quiz as well as studying women raised in institutions and issues they face with child rearing supports the need for continuity
ao3: what research support is there for social releasers? why is this a strength of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Brazleton et al. (1975) observed mothers and babies during their interactions, reporting the existence of interactional synchrony. they then extended the study from an observation to an experiment.
synchrony. primary attachment figures were instructed to ignore their babies’ signals - in Bowlby’s terms, to ignore their social releasers. The babies initially showed some distress but, when the attachment figures continued to ignore the baby some responded by curling up and lying motionless. the fact that the children responded so strongly supports Bowlby’s ideas about the significance of infant social behaviour in eliciting caregiving.
ao3: how have feminists criticised this theory for being socially sensitive? what are the potential implications of this?
Monotropy is a controversial idea because it has major implications for the lifestyle choices mothers make when their children are young. the law of accumulated separation states that having substantial time apart from a primary attachment figure risks a poor quality attachment that will disadvantage the child in a range of ways later. feminists like Erica Burman (1994) have pointed out that this places a terrible burden of responsibility on mothers, setting them up to take the blame for anything that goes wrong in the rest of the child’s life. it also pushes mothers into particular lifestyle choices like not returning to work when a child is
