blowby's monotropic theory

explain bowlby’s monotropic theory

this is an evolutionary theory of attachment. He argues that infants have an innate drive to form an especially strong attachment to their mother and stay in close proximity. He says this strong attachment is instinctual as the mother is vital to the mothers survival she provide security and food.

define social releaser

Social releasers are behaviours that babies are biologically pre-programmed to do, which attract the attention of caregivers. Some examples are crying smiling

describe the critical period

This was based/ similar to Lorenz critical period. Bowlby said there was a critical period from 2 or 2.5 years. He said that there was permeant social intellectual and emotional negative repercussion.

internal working model

The internal working model which is a mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver which serves as a model for future relationships (friendships, romantic relationships and own parenting)

One strength is that there is evolutionary evidence in support

One advantage of Bowlby’s monotropic theory is that there is support from evolutionary psychology.

Although Lorenz’s study was with animals so has been questioned for its generalisability, it nevertheless supports the idea of a biologically determined timeframe. Bowlby extended this to humans, believing that if no attachment formed within the critical period, it could lead to affectionless psychopathy or developmental delays.

For example, Lorenz’s study on imprinting in geese found that the goslings formed an immediate bond with the first moving object they saw and those that didn’t imprint within a short window failed to form attachments later

The conclusion is therefore that attachment behaviours are adaptive and have evolved because they increase the infant’s chances of survival by keeping them close to the caregiver for protection and nourishment.

One strength is its benefits children

Despite such criticisms, Bowlby’s theory can be praised for having a significant impact on childcare practices and our understanding of emotional development.

For example, Bowlby’s work influenced policies such as parental leave and hospital visiting rights, promoting consistent and sensitive caregiving in the early years. His research led to a shift away from institutional care and toward family-based interventions.

As a result, Bowlby’s findings on the dangers of prolonged separation helped inform the development of the Key Worker approach in nurseries, ensuring each child forms a stable bond with one adult.

This shows that Bowlby’s theory, despite some limitations, has had profound and beneficial effects on child welfare, education, and psychological support services.

One limitation is there is to much emphasis on the mother

Whilst this may be true, a limitation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory is that there is too much emphasis upon the role of the mother.

For example, Schaffer and Emerson’s Scottish infant study showed that multiple attachments were observed in infants with up to 5 attachments by the age of 18 months. These included fathers, grandparents and siblings.

Bowlby’s focus on the mother may therefore have reinforced traditional gender roles and ignored the contributions of other attachment figures, especially in modern, diverse family structures.

This is further supported by the research of Grossman et al. who showed that fathers play a crucial role in social development, especially in terms of play and stimulation rather than emotional security.

One limitation is that its largely based on western culture

A final limitation, however, is that Bowlby’s theory is largely based on Western ideals of child-rearing and so may not be universally applicable.

For example, in collectivist cultures, where caregiving is often shared among several adults (e.g. the kibbutz system in Israel), children still develop securely

This suggests that Bowlby’s theory may be ethnocentric with limited generalisability outside Western societies. As such, the role of multiple caregivers should be considered to a greater extent in attachment theory.

These findings therefore challenge Bowlby’s assertions that one attachment is more crucial than others.

deprivation

Deprivation refers to the loss or disruption of an existing attachment bond, usually with a primary caregiver (like the mother).