PSYCH; Bowlby's Monotropic Theory

Explanation of attachment

why’s Bowlby’s theory described as ‘monotropic’

mono means ‘one’

tropic meaning ‘learning towards’

because he emphasised one particular caregiver on a child’s attachment - made clear it needs to be a woman/biological mother

and that this one particular attachment is different and more important from all the others

what are the two principles that clarify spending more time w mother-figure is best

law of continuity

law of accumulated seperation

what’s the law of continuity

states that the more constant and predictable a child’s care is, the better the quality of attachment

what’s the law of accumulated separation

states that the effects of every separation from the mother add up

i.e the safest dose is therefore a zero dose

what are social releasers

set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours like smiling/cooing that encourage attention from adults and help baby initiate an interaction/attachment

bowlby suggested that babies are born with these behaviours

what are the purpose of social releasers

to activate adult social interaction and to initiate an attachment between caregiver and infant by activating the mammalian attachment system

in bowlby’s case - mother and baby

what did bowlby recognise about attachment

recognised that attachment was a reciprocal process

that both baby and mother are ‘hard wired’ to become attached

what’s meant by critical period from Bowlby’s theory

bowlby viewed this more as a ‘sensitive period’ where a child is sensitive at 6 months and this possibly extends upto age 2

if an attachment is not formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later/ never will.

and will have social, emotional, intellectual and physical problems

how long does the critical period last according to Bowlby

from the first 6 months of life - 2 years of age

why did Bowlby refer the critical period as the ‘sensitive period’

bc child Is most sensitive in their first 6 months of life

and infant attachment system is most active around the first 6 months

what’s meant by the internal working model

a mental scheme for relationships

e.g the mental representations we have of our relationship to our primary attachment figure

affects our future relationships because it carries our perception of what relationships are like

what did Bowlby suggest of the internal working model

proposed that a child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary attachment figure

and this serves as a model for what relationships are like for that child in the future

e.g child’s first experience of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will have the expectation that all relationships are as ‘loving and reliable’

e.g those who have a dysfunctional internal working model will seek out for dysfunctional relationships and behave dysfunctionally

and bring this mindset to future relationships

what’s meant by ‘adaptive’ according to attachment in Bowlby’s monotropic theory

refers to attachment as an advantage to survival as it ensures a baby is kept safe and fed

what’s meant by maternal deprivation

lack of a mother figure during the critical period for attachment formation

results in emotional and intellectual developmental deficits

e.g affection less psychopathy and intellectual disability

one limitation of bowlby’s monotropic theory is that the concept of monotropy lacks validity..how?

E; Schaffer&Emerson (1964) found that although most babies attach to one person at first, a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time — although the first attachment does appear to have a particularly strong influence, doesn’t mean its ‘different’ in quality from the child’s other attachments e.g other attachments to familiy members provide all the same key qualities.

E; This means that Bowlby’s theory may be incomplete/unvalid in explaining that there’s an unique quality and importance of one specific caregiver to the child’s primary attachment.

one strength of bowlby’s theory is the evidence supporting the role of social releasers..

P; one strength is that there’s clear supporting evidence that cute baby behaviours are designed to elicit interaction from caregivers.

E; For example, Brazleton(1975) observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers. Researchers then instructed the babies’ primary attachment figures to ignore their babies’ social releasers, babies previously shown to be normally responsive became increasingly distressed.

E; This illustrates the role of social releasers in emotional development and suggest they are important in the process of attachment development.

L; Therefore, this increases the internal validity of Bowlby’s mono tropic explaining the importance of social releasers in attachment development of a child.

one strength of bowlbys theory is supporting evidence for internal working model

E; Bailey et al (2007) assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their one year babies - measured the mothers’ attachment to their own primary attachment figures (e.g parents) and attachment quality of their babies. Found that mothers with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies.

E; This supports Bowlby’s idea that mothers’ ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their own internal working models (comes from their primary attachment figures)

L; Therefore, this increases the internal validity of Bowlby’s theory in explaining the effects of the internal working model on developing attachments.

one limitation of bowlby explaining the importance of the internal working model

P; one limitation of Bowlby’s theory is the emphasis on the importance of the internal working model in social development.

E; There are other important influences on social development. For example, some psychologists believe that genetic differences in anxiety and sociability affect social behaviour in both babies and adults. These differences could also impact on their parenting ability (Korneiko 2016)