bowlby - theory of attachment

Question 1

define attachment

Answer 1

a lasting psychological connectedness between human beings

Question 2

what is attachment theory

Answer 2

bowlby’s theory that explores how infants form emotional bonds with their primary caregivers. it emphasizes the importance of these early attachments in shaping infants social and emotional development

Question 3

what is bowlby’s evolutionary perspectives

Answer 3

• that children are born with an innate drive to form
  attachments with caregivers
• behaviours like proximity seeking are distinctive and are activated by things like separation, fear and insecurity
• babies are born with social releases which help ensure proximity with their attachment figure

Question 4

what does bowlby think proximity seeking is activated by

Answer 4

things like separation, fear and insecurity

Question 4

what are social releases in infants

Answer 4

displaying certain intimate behaviours

Question 5

what are some examples of social releases in infants

Answer 5

smiling, crying and crawling
(species specific behaviours)

Question 6

what is montropy

Answer 6

an important and close attachment formed with a primary caregiver

Question 7

what happens if a monotropic attachment isn’t formed

Answer 7

there are negative consequences on social and emotional development

Question 8

what is the critical period

Answer 8

the most important time for an attachment to be made in an infants life

Question 9

how long is the critical period

Answer 9

2.5 years

Question 10

what happens if an attachment isn’t made during the critical period

Answer 10

there is a chance no attachment is made at al

Question 11

how does the monotropic relationship affect all other relationships

Answer 11

it becomes the prototype for all future social relationships and lets individuals predict, control and manipulate interactions with others.

Question 12

how are critical periods marked neurologically?

Answer 12

by high levels of plasticity in the brain

Question 13

what are sensitive periods

Answer 13

when an organism is more sensitive than usual to outside factors

Question 14

how long does the sensitive last for

Answer 14

up to 5 years

Question 15

what are sensitive periods also known as

Answer 15

weak critical periods

Question 16

what is maternal deprivation

Answer 16

the separation or loss of a mother and the failure to develop the attachment

Question 17

what is a maternal attachment

Answer 17

a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with a mother figure that is necessary for healthy psychological and emotional development

Question 18

what are the effects of a broken or disrupted maternal attachment

Answer 18

there are long term consequences

Question 19

how long is there a risk of long term consequences if the maternal attachment is broken

Answer 19

up to 5 years

Question 20

what are some of the long term consequences of a broken maternal attachment

Answer 20

• inability to form attachments in the future
• affectionless psychopathy (no remorse or guilt)
• delinquency (behavioural problems)
• cognitive development (reduced intelligence)

Question 21

what is an internal working model

Answer 21

a cognitive framework compromising mental representations for understanding the world, self and others

Question 22

how does the primary caregivers behaviour affect the child

Answer 22

the primary caregivers behaviour towards the child affects how the child behaves

Question 23

eg of how the caregivers behaviour affects the child

Answer 23

caregivers who are positive and loving = secure behaviours

caregivers who are unloving and rejecting = avoidant behaviours

caregivers who are angry and confusing = resistant behaviours

Question 24

what is critical period for attachment formation

Answer 24

the first 2.5 years of life where attachments are formed and if there not there is damage to social and emotional development later in life

Question 25

what is the role of attachment figures in reducing anxiety

Answer 25

provide a secure base for exploring. When anxious the child seeks comfort from these figures to reduce anxiety and be able to explore the world more confidently.

Question 26

what are the strengths of internal working theory

Answer 26

- it lead to studies on orphans in the UK allowing for improved conditions and programs run in these settings - it provides a scaffold reasoning for how adult relationships form -later studies have supported this theory

Question 27

what are 3 limitations of the internal working theory

Answer 27

- mothers not realistically being primary caregivers - His critical period statements are conflicting. - "normal development"

Question 28

how is bowlby's normal development a limitation

Answer 28

what is this and what experiences in the first 5 years is considered to be specific for the attachment to occur. globally there are lots of diversities in childcare

Question 29

How does bowlby's critical statements conflict

Answer 29

if an attachment is not formed in the first 2.5 years but did through high quality care in the first 5 years then the critical period should be acknowledges as a sensitive period

Question 29

how is bowlby's assumption mothers are primary caregivers a limitation

Answer 29

bowlby believed mothers were the primary caregivers and globally the majority of societies have multiple attachment figures involved in raising children

Question 30

how does bowlby's internal working theory apply to real world contexts

Answer 30

- professional cuddle volunteers in ICU to NICU - holistic support to the whole family of persons in hospital settings eg. ronald mcdonald house links to perth children's hospital