attachment bowlbys theory

Bowlby monotropic theory

John Bowlby rejected learning theory as an explanation for attachment because, as he said, 'were it true, an infant of a year or two should take readily to whomever feeds him and this is clearly not the case' Instead Bowlby looked at the work of Lorenz and Harlow for ideas and proposed an evolutionary explanation: that attachment was an innate system that gave a survival advantage. Imprinting and attachment evolved because they ensure that young animals stay close to their caregivers and this protects them from hazards. Millions of years ago this might have been wild animals, today it is traffic and electricity.

Monotropy

Bowlby's theory (1958, 1969) is described as monotropic because he placed great emphasis on a child's attachment to one particular caregiver (hence the word mono), and he believed that the child's attachment to this one caregiver is different and more important than others. Bowiby called this person the 'mother" but was clear that it need not be the biological mother. Bowlby believed that the more time a baby spent with this mother-figure - or primary attachment figure as we usually call them now - the better. He put forward two principles to clarify this:

• The law of continuity stated that the more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of their attachment.

• The law of accumulated separation stated that the effects of every separation from the mother add up and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose

internal working model

Bowlby proposed that a child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver. This is called an internal working model because it serves as a model for what relationships are like. It therefore has a powerful effect on the nature of the child's future relationships. A child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable, and they will bring these qualities to future relationships. However, a child whose first relationship involves poor treatment will tend to form further poor relationships in which they expect such treatment from others or treat others in that way.

Most importantly 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. This explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves.

Social releasers and critical period

Bowlby suggested that babies are born with a set of innate 'cute' behaviours like smiling, cooing and gripping that encourage attention from adults. He called these social releasers because their purpose is to activate the adult attachment system, i.e. make an adult feel love towards the baby. Bowlby recognised that attachment was a reciprocal process. Both mother and baby have an innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger that response in caregivers.

The interplay between infant and adult attachment systems gradually builds the relationship between infant and caregiver, beginning in the early weeks of life (as we discussed on page 88). Bowlby proposed that there is a critical period around two years when the infant attachment system is active. In fact Bowlby viewed this as more of a sensitive period. A child is maximally sensitive at the age of two but, if an attachment is not formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later.