Attachment- Bowlby's theory

what are the 5 key terms of bowlbys theory and their meanings

1. Critical period= a determined period of time during which certain characteristic can develop outside of this time window such development will not be possible

2. internal working model = a mental model of the world. in the case of attachment the model relates to a person's expectations about relationships

3. monotropic theory= the idea that one relationship that the infant has with their primary attachment figure is of special significance in emotional development

4. social releaser= a social behaviour or characteristic that elicits caregiving and leads to attachment

5. deprivation= explains that continual disruption or prolonged separation from primary caregiver can result in significant long term cognitive social and emotional challenges for the child

what is bowlby’s monotropic theory

• an evolutionary explanation of attachment

• bowlby argues infants have an innate drive to form especially strong attachment to their mother (monotropy) and stay in close proximity

• bowlby argues this drive is instinctual as forming a strong attachment is vital to infants survival as mother provides food and security

how does bowlby suggest strength of monotropic attachment can be seen

• in safe base behaviour.

• infants with good attachments will use their mother ass a base to explore their environment but will show distress if mum disappears

how do babies help the montropic relationship occur

• babies instinctively use signals called social releasers (crying, smiling and vocalisations)

• do this attract attention

• according to bowlbys monotropic theory, mothers are biologically programmed to instinctively find these behaviours cute or distressing

Why does Bowlby believe attachment forms

- listen to Lorenz and harlow's research

attachment behaviour involved because it serves an important survival function EG an infant who was not attached is less well protected

How does Bowlby believe attachment forms

Babies have an innate drive to become attached

Bowlby said attachment is determined by sensitivity

he suggested that the babies who seemed most strongly attached were the ones whose mothers were more responsive

Bowlby suggested social releases are essential for attachment development

Bowlby also suggested the sensitivity of the mother/ primary caregiver is key in the development of attachment as it will strengthen the bond between them and the baby

What does Bowlby suggest other consequences of monotropy

• babies that experience a continuous warm loving relationship with their primary caregiver form a strong attachment and will become socially and emotionally competent adults

• infants who caregivers have not provided the continuous love necessary will have more social and emotional difficulties in childhood and adulthood.

• The internal working model expects relationships to be distant and to not workout

EVALUATION: support for social releasers

• cute babies are designed to elicit interaction from caregivers

• Brazelton et al observed babies trigger interactions with adults with social releasers

• researchers instructed them to ignore them

• babies became distressed and soon curled up and lay motionless

• this illustrates the role of social releasers and suggest they are an important process in attachment development

EVALUATION: bowlby's theory of a critical period criticised

• Rutter et al showed that a critical period is true to some extent

• it actually appears less likely that attachments will form after this period however not impossible.

• This means researchers use terms sensitive period rather than critical suggesting bowlby's original idea is not completely true

EVALUATION: support for bowlby's internal model

• The Minnesota parents study followed participants from infancy to late adolescence

• found continuity between early attachment and later emotional and social behaviour eg securely attached children were rated higher for social competence later in childhood.

• this supports bowlbys continuity hypothesis because it shows a link between early and later attachments

What is an alternative explanation for attachment due to temperament hypothesis

• They supposes that infants who have an easy temperament are more likely to become strongly attached because it is easier to interact with them.

• Belsky and Rovine found that infants between one and three days old who had signs of being more temperamentally difficult related judged to be more likely to have developed an insecure attachment.

• This supports the temperament hypothesis and suggest bowlby's theory may not be the best explanation of attachment.