Explanations Of Attachment - Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory Flashcards
Outline - attachment is innate.
bowbly gave an evolutionary explanation - that attachment was an innate system that gives a survival advantage.
so attachment (like imprinting) evolved as a mechanism to keep young animals safe by ensuring they stay close to adult caregivers.
however there is no direct evidence of a gene for attachment or genes for attachment.
Define monotropic.
having a primary attachment figure.
why is bowbly theory described as monotropic?
described as monotropic because he placed great emphasis on a childs attachment to one particular caregiver (hence the word mono).
he believed that the childs attachment to this one caregiver is different and more important than others.
what did bowbly call this particular caregiver?
the ‘mother’ but it was clear that it need not be the biological mother.
bowbly believed that the more time a baby spent with this mother figure (primary attachment figure) the better.
what two principles did bowbly use to explain the importance of the primary attachment figure?
law of continuity = the more constant and predictable a childs care, the better the quality of their attachment.
law of accumulated separation = the effects of every separation from the mother add up ‘and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose’.
what is bowlby’s explanation for social releases?
bowbly suggested that babies are born with a set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours (smiling, cooing, gripping) that encourage attention from adults.
the purpose of these social releasers is to activate adult social interaction (make an adult attach to the baby).
bowlby recognised that attachment is a reciprocal system.
why did bowbly propose a critical period?
bowlby proposed that there is a critical period of around six months when the infant attachment system is active. in fact he viewed this as more of a sensitive period.
a child is maximally sensitive at 6 months and this may extend up to the age of 2 years. if an attachment has not formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later.
Define internal working model.
bowlby’s proposed that a child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary attachment figure - this is called an internal working model because it serves as a model for what relationships are like.
what is bowbly explanation for the internal working model?
a child whose first experience is a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable.
however a child whose first relationship involves poor treatment will tend to form further poor relationships and may expect such treatment from others.
the internal working model affects the child’s later ability to be a parent themselves. people tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented.
limitation - validity of monotropy
the relationship with the primary attachment figure may simply be stronger than other attachments rather than different in quality as bowbly believed.
for example other family members may develop attachments with the baby that have the same qualities, such as comfort and a safe base.
this means that bowbly may have been wrong to suggest that there is a unique quality to a childs primary attachment.
limitation - research into monotropy
schaffer and emerson (1964)
schaffer and emerson (1964) study of 60 infants from glasgow showed that most infants formed their first attachment with one particular person. but nearly one third formed multiple attachments (two or more persons) in which there appeared to be no preferred attachment figure. this became increasingly common as the infants grew older.
strength - support for social releases
brazelton (1975)
brazelton (1975) instructed the primary attachment figures to ignore their babies social releasers.
babies (who were previously shown to be normally responsive) became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up and lay motionless.
this supports the idea that social releasers play an important role in attachment development.
support - internal working model
bailey (2007)
the idea of the internal working model predicts that patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next.
bailey (2007) assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers. those with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies.
this supports bowlby idea that mothers ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their internal working models (which in turn comes from their own early attachment experiences).
counter - internal working model
there are other important influences on social development.
for example a babies genetically influenced personality is important in the development of social behaviour including their later parenting style.
this means that bowbly may have overemphasised the importance of the internal working model in development.
support - internal working model
erickson (1985)
observed 4 to 5 year olds in pre school settings. they found that securely attached children were less dependent on the teacher and were more confident undertaking tasks than insecurely attached children.
