Bowlby's monotropic theory Flashcards
(14 cards)
What are the 5 concepts of monotropic attachment
Adaptive
Social releases
Critical period
Monotropy
Internal working model
What is adaptability
Gives a survival advantage, if an infant is attached, it is kept safe, fed and warm.
Contradicting research of adaptability
Bowlby stated attachment occurs after 3 months, however, for survival they will need an immediate attachment, they cannot even crawl until 7 months.
What is social releases
Innate infant behaviour that encourage an innate nurturing response, such as baby face, cooing and crying.
Research support of social releases
Isabella observing 30 mothers and babies found high levels of synchrony with better mother-baby attachment.
What is the critical period
Time to form an attachment with a caregiver between birth and 1 1/2 years. If an attachment isn’t formed, there is long term, negative, irreversible consequences.
Research support for the critical period
Lorenz’s study of goslings found they never formed attachments if they didn’t within 12-17 hours. However, this is different to humans.
What is monotropy
Infants form a special, intense bond with one caregiver, usually the mother. If there is no mother, it will be another adult mother-substitute.
Contradictory research of monotropy
Schaffer and Emerson found a minority of their study were able to form multiple attachments at the same time.
What is the internal working model
A mental template for future relationships based off your first monotropy attachment. A good first attachment = a good first relationship.
Research support of the internal working model
Bailey assessed 99 mothers and 1 year old babies finding mothers who reported poor attachments to their own parents were more likely to have their own children classified as poor during observations.
Bowlby overemphasising monotropy
Thomas suggests it is more beneficial to have a network of attachments to support babies’ social and emotional needs. This may give a superior survival advantage.
Bowlby’s theory being socially sensitive
Places pressure on primary attachment figure to form sensitive nurturing attachments to their children. This could encourage them to stay off work. Furthermore impacting maternity leave and worker productivity.
Sensitive period rather than critical
Czech twins were neglected until the age of 7 and formed no attachment, but had strong positive with their adoptive parents, and had successful future relationships.
