Explanations For Attachment - Bowlbys Monotropic Theory

Question 1

What is Bowlbys evolutionary explanation for attachement

Answer 1

Infants have innate drive to form strong bond to mother (monotropy) and stay in close proximity

Question 2

Why do infants have an innate drive for strong bond to mother?

Answer 2

Vital to infants’ survival - food and security from mother

Question 3

How are monotropic relationships developed?

Answer 3

Develop using social releasers (crying, smiling) that attract the mother’s attention - biologically find social releasers cute or distressing

Question 4

When must monotropic relationships form and what are the consequences of not?

Answer 4

First 30 months - lack of monotropy leads to permanent negative social, intellectual and emotional consequences

Question 5

What does a monotropic relationship to mother provide for the future?

Answer 5

Provides schema for future relationships

Question 6

What is safe base behavior

Answer 6

Good attachment - infants use mother as safe base for exploring environment, but show separation and stranger anxiety

Question 7

AO3 Strength - point

Answer 7

Supportive evidence from animal studies of attachments being innate

Question 8

AO3 Strength - evidence

Answer 8

Lorenz - hatched goslings followed which ever large moving object they saw first (Lorenz or mother) and imprint on them from birth

Question 9

AO3 LIMITATION -point

Answer 9

Theory ignores dispositional factors of the infant

Question 10

AO3 Limitation - evidence

Answer 10

Kagan (1984) - temperament hypothesis - child’s genetically inherited personality traits (temperaments) have role to play in forming attachment with caregiver