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Bowlby's monotropic theory

John Bowlby was a British psychologist, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst (1907-1990)

He is most well-known for his studies in infant attachment and child development

Bowlby was influenced by the studies carried out on animals by Lorenz (1935) and Harlow (1959)

Bowlby disagreed with learning theory as an explanation for attachment

Bowlby's research led him to suggest that attachment was an innate system developed as an evolutionary process to aid survival

The infant must attach to the caregiver for protection from harm, as a source of food and for nurture/care

The parent must attach to the infant to ensure they are cared for and survive

Bowlby's theory of attachment is described as monotropic as he suggests that the child forms an attachment to one (mono) key caregiver

This can be a mother or other person in the child's life such as the father or even a grandparent

The more time a child spends with this caregiver - the primary attachment figure - the better the quality of attachment

Bowlby proposed two principles to explain this:

The law of continuity: the more constant and predictable a child's care the better the quality of attachment

The law of accumulated separation: every separation from the primary attachment figure affects the child

How attachment is formed

Bowly suggested that babies are born with innate behaviours that help a caregiver form an attachment to the infant, such as:

smiling

cooing

gripping a finger

having a 'cute' baby face (large eyes, button nose, rounded appearance, rosy cheeks)

These behaviours are called social releasers as they trigger the adult to interact with the infant so that an attachment can be formed

It is suggested that where caregivers are more responsive and accessible (in response to the social releasers) there will be stronger attachments made between the caregiver and the infant

Bowlby suggested that attachment begins early in the infant's life during a critical period from around three to six months, the most sensitive period being around six months

If attachments are not made during this critical period then the child will find making attachments later on difficult

Internal working model

Bowlby suggested that a child forms a model for what relationships look like using their attachment and relationship to their primary attachment figure

He called this the internal working model

A child who experiences a loving and secure relationship with a consistent and safe caregiver will grow up to expect this from later relationships

A child who experiences a negative relationship with their primary attachment figure will tend to form poor relationships in the future and expect negative treatment or treat others in such a way

The model also serves to help the infant influence their caregiver's behaviour (using social releasers) as a way to form an attachment because the infant has a mental representation of the relationship

Evaluation

Strengths

Studies supporting Bowlby's monotropic theory include animal studies

Lorenz (1935) found that gosling geese formed attachments to the first moving thing that they saw after hatching, which suggests that attachment is an innate process

This supports Bowlby's idea that attachment has developed as an evolutionary process to aid survival

There is evidence to support the idea of social releasers

Caregivers were instructed to ignore their baby's social releases whereby the babies then became increasingly distressed

This suggests that babies use social releasers as a way to elicit attention and attachment to their caregiver

These findings support Bowlby's theory of social releasers and their importance in forming an attachment to a caregiver

Limitations

Research suggests that babies form multiple attachments rather than one attachment

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) propose that children form multiple strong attachments to a variety of caregivers from the age of 10- 11 months

This suggests that Bowlby's monotropic theory is incorrect

Infants can form attachments after the critical period

Rutter et al. (2010) found, during studies of Romanian orphans, that although it is less likely that attachments are formed after the critical period of three to six months, attachments can form

This time of a child's development is important for forming attachments as infants seem to be particularly receptive to forming attachments during three to six months

However, attachments have been found to take place after six months and so the critical period is now called a sensitive period

Learning theory: classical & operant conditioning

Learning theory is a set of explanations which help to understand behaviour in terms of:

learning via experience and consequences

learning theories do not include innate traits as a factor in behaviour

Learning theory suggests that:

children are born as 'blank slates'

experience is key to learning

observable behaviours can be measured and used to understand people

children attach to a caregiver because the caregiver is the provider of food

Learning theory is split into two explanations

Classical conditioning

Operant conditioning

Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning is learning that is developed through the association of stimuli

An unconditioned stimulus-response, food (in the case of attachment), produces an unconditioned response

Food is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Salivation is the unconditioned response (UCR)

i.e. animals and people do not have to learn to feel hunger or to salivate at the sight/smell of food (this is known as a reflex action)

Classical conditioning in terms of attachment is known as 'cupboard love' theory

The caregiver starts as the neutral stimulus (NS)

Food is the UCS

The baby's response (e.g. smiling, crying, banging their high-chair tray) is the UCR

As a caregiver provides food, over time, they become associated with food

The NS is paired with UCS

The baby expects food when they see their caregiver

The baby emits their usual response (e.g. smiling, crying, banging their high-chair tray)

Thus the NS has become a conditioned stimulus (CS) which is met with the baby's conditioned response (CR)

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning is learning from a consequence of a behaviour

If the behaviour produces a pleasant consequence the behaviour will be repeated, i.e. it is reinforced

If the behaviour produces a negative consequence (punishment) the behaviour is less likely to be repeated

Example:

A baby is fed and feels pleasure (reward)

The behaviour that led to the baby being fed is likely to be repeated by the behaviour e.g. crying

The food reinforces the behaviour

The caregiver associated with the food is also a reinforcer (mutual reinforcement)

This is an example of negative reinforcement as the crying stops, the baby is escaping from something unpleasant

Attachment to the caregiver occurs because the baby is seeking the reward (supplied by the person)

Evaluation

Strengths

Learning theory can explain some parts of attachment in infants to a caregiver

Even though food may not be the main factor in attachment forming, it is clear that infants form an association with other factors (such as comfort, soothing, and nurture) with a caregiver

Infants may form stronger attachments to particular caregivers who offer responsiveness and attention; the infant may become conditioned to this care and therefore attachments are formed

These factors are not part of learning theory but the idea of an infant can associate factors (but not food) with particular caregivers helps in explaining attachment

Limitations

Animal studies contradict the learning theory of attachment

Harlow's research (1959) with rhesus monkeys found that monkeys attached to a cloth 'mother' (made from wire) when food was provided by another source (the plain wire mother)

This suggests that other factors are important in forming an attachment rather than an association with food

Studies with human babies provide counter-evidence to the learning theory of attachment

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that babies formed their primary attachment to their mother despite the mother not being the caregiver who usually fed them

Interactional synchrony and reciprocity are considered the foundations for building an attachment between caregiver and infant (Isabella et al. 1989)

These studies and evidence suggest that food is not the main factor in attachments forming between an infant and their caregiver

Evaluations

Strengths

Harlow's research and experiments on monkeys have real-world applications

Psychologists and social workers can understand that a lack of parental bonding and nurture can have detrimental effects on a child's development

This means that interventions can be put in place to prevent long-term negative consequences

Animal care can also be improved in settings such as zoos, wildlife centres and breeding programmes

Limitations

The findings of Harlow's research cannot be generalised to humans

Whilst monkeys are similar to humans (both are primate mammals), there is still a wide variety of differences physically and in our behaviours and emotions

Humans are more complex than monkeys

The experiments carried out by Harlow on monkeys raised many ethical issues

Harlow's research caused severe and lasting distress to animals that found it difficult to form relationships with other monkeys and displayed unsettling and abnormal behaviour

This means that Harlow's study is not ethically sound

It is important to question whether the effects on the monkey outweigh the findings of the study and gains to attachment research

The findings from Harlow's experiments contradict the learning theory of attachment

Harlow found that monkeys spent more time with the cloth mothers, even when they were not being fed from these

Whilst the learning theory of attachment suggests that attachment to a caregiver is formed based on an association between caregiver and food

Harlow's evidence suggests that baby monkeys do not form attachments based on food, but prefer ‘contact comfort’ from a caregiver figure (the cloth 'mother')

Harlow's monkey study

Harry Harlow was an American psychologist

He studied attachment and is most well-known for his experiments with rhesus monkeys (1958) which focused on

maternal-separation

dependency needs

social isolation

Harlow had observed that newborn rhesus monkeys often died if they were kept alone in a cage but survived if they had a soft cloth to cuddle to

Harlow investigated how attachment to a mother was not based on feeding (i.e basic needs) but instead, attachment is formed through being comforted

Procedure

Two fake (and very rudimentary) wire 'mother monkeys' were created

Each had a different head type (see photo below)

The bodies were also different - one was covered in a cloth, the other was a bare wire with no padding

Eight infant rhesus monkeys were split into two groups of four and studied over 165 days

One group had milk dispensed via the cloth 'mother'

The other group had milk dispensed via the plain-wire 'mother'

Data was collected on the amount of time the monkeys spent on each 'mother'

Observations were made in additional experiments on how the monkeys reacted to being scared

Findings

All eight monkeys spent the majority of time with the cloth 'mother'

Monkeys whose milk was delivered via the plain wire ' mother' only spent time there feeding, then returned to the cloth 'mother'

When scared, all monkeys held onto the cloth mother

When playing/investigating new objects monkeys kept one limb on the cloth mother

This suggests that contact and comfort are how attachment is formed, rather than through feeding

Long-term study

Harlow observed the monkeys into adulthood to investigate maternal deprivation

Both groups of monkeys developed abnormally

The monkeys raised with the plain-wire 'mother' were most dysfunctional:

More aggressive

Less sociable

Bred less/unskilled at mating

Attacked their offspring (when breeding was successful)

Harlow discovered a critical period for dysfunctional behaviour

The monkeys who spent time socialising with other monkeys before the age of three months showed that some of the abnormal behaviours could be reversed

Monkeys who spent more than six months in isolation with only a wire mother did not recover normal monkey behaviour

Lorenz's geese study

Konrad Lorenz was an ethologist who worked predominantly in natural conditions in the natural world

One behaviour Lorenz was interested in was the behaviour of imprinting

Imprinting

Imprinting is much like attachment in human infants as it bonds a baby animal to its caregiver

Imprinting is where an offspring will follow the first moving object they see once born

This phenomenon occurs commonly in birds but also in many mammals and some fishes and insects

Lorenz hypothesised that if baby animals can imprint after such a short space of time then attachment must be innate

Lorenz's goslings

A key piece of Lorenz's research (1935) involved goslings (baby geese)

Procedure:

Lorenz randomly split a clutch of goose eggs into two groups

One group was left in their natural habitat with their biological mother (the control group)

One group was placed in an incubator (the experimental group)

Upon hatching, the incubator eggs' first living and moving thing they saw was Lorenz

Upon hatching, the control group eggs' first living and moving thing they saw was their natural mother

Once all eggs from both groups were hatched Lorenz mixed up all the goslings to observe their behaviour

Findings:

The goslings from the control group followed their natural mother

The goslings from the experimental group followed Lorenz - they had imprinted on him

Lorenz identified a critical period when imprinting occurs

If exposure to a moving object does not happen during the critical period then attachment to a 'mother' figure does not occur i.e. the bird will not imprint

The critical period is different for different species of bird, although Lorenz observed this to be between 13 and 16 hours shortly after hatching for the goslings

Evaluation

Strengths

There are many supporting studies on the concept of imprinting

Guiton (1966) used yellow rubber gloves to cause imprinting of newly hatched leghorn chicks

This suggests that young birds (animals) are not born with a predisposition to imprint onto a specific species, but anything that is consistently moving during the critical period

This means there is clear support for Lorenz's research and findings of imprinting during a critical period

The findings of Lorenz's research have influenced other areas of psychology, such as developmental psychology

Lorenz suggested that imprinting was irreversible which suggests that imprinting is controlled by biological factors and happens within a certain time frame

This has led to other psychologists (such as Bowlby) developing well-studied theories of attachment which also suggest that attachment takes place during a critical period and is a biological process.

This has good practical applications as attachment theory has influenced the way child care is administered

Limitations

Lorenz's study into gosling imprinting cannot be generalised to humans

Attachment in mammals, and specifically humans, is very different to that of bird species

Attachment in humans is a two-way process (formed by reciprocity and interactional synchrony): the mother attaches to the baby and the baby attaches to the mother

Birds can imprint onto inanimate objects meaning that it is a one-way relationship

Other research has found that imprinting is changeable and not permanent

One study found that chickens that had originally imprinted onto a rubber glove and tried to mate with rubber gloves, were able to have this reversed after spending more time with their own species

This suggests that imprinting may be more similar to learning rather than a form of attachment

Stages of attachment

As part of their development, all babies go through the four stages of attachment (as identified by Schaffer & Emerson 1964)

Each stage of attachment is linked to specific ages

Stage 1: Asocial stage

Age

From birth to two months

Observations

Behaviours towards humans and inanimate objects are similar (asocial)

Babies can show preference for the presence of familiar people and social stimuli such as milk, facial expressions and 'cooing' from adults

Bonds start to form through reciprocity and interactional synchrony

Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment (pre-social stage)

Age

From two to seven months

Observations

Infants become more social

They show a clear preference for being with humans instead of inanimate objects

Babies in this stage recognise their caregivers and other familiar people

They will accept closeness (cuddles, soothing) from any person and do not show separation anxiety

They are unlikely to show stranger anxiety during this stage

Stage 3: Specific attachment

Age

From seven months

Observations:

The formation of attachment to a specific caregiver

This person becomes known as the primary attachment figure

Babies will show signs of separation and stranger anxiety particularly when away from their primary attachment figure

Stage 4: Multiple attachments

Age

From the age of one year

Observations

After an attachment to a primary attachment figure has been formed, babies begin to form multiple attachments with other people that they spend time with, such as fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc.

These are called secondary attachments

Separation anxiety can occur when infants are separated from their secondary attachments

Four stages of infant attachment: Asocial, Indiscriminate Attachment, Specific Attachment, and Multiple Attachments. Descriptions and illustrations accompany each stage.

The stages of attachment as identified by Schaffer

Evaluation

Strengths

Schaffer & Emerson's study involved observations carried out by the parents in the home

The observations did not take place in controlled, lab conditions

This means that the babies were not distracted by the presence of unfamiliar researchers

This means that the babies were simply 'being babies' in their home environment

This means that there is high external validity to the research

The findings of Schaffer & Emerson's study have good real-world application

The stages of attachment can be applied practically to daycare settings such as nurseries and preschools (kindergartens)

Parents can use the stages of attachment to help understand the development of their child

This means that they may avoid starting their child in daycare around seven months due to the likelihood of the infant being in the specific attachment phase

Limitations

Schaffer & Emerson's study relied on the mothers making observations

The mothers were unlikely to be objective observers

Some mothers may be more or less sensitive to their child's distress at separation and so report findings differently and with less accuracy from other families

Some mothers may have under-reported what they perceived to be the less positive aspects of their child's experience

This means that the data may be unreliable

The data collected by Schaffer & Emerson was from a biased sample

Schaffer & Emerson only used families from a working-class population from Glasgow, Scotland (an individualistic culture)

This means the findings may not apply to other socioeconomic and cultural groups

The findings may not be generalisable beyond the immediate demographic

The data was collected in the 1960s

Parental care has changed (in the UK) since then as:

fewer mothers stay at home

the primary caregiver role may be divided between parents and even grandparents

there are more 'blended' families; many children these days have wider, extended families to attach to

This means that the findings lack temporal validity

Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer

Attachment relationships exist in many forms

Between the baby and their caregivers/parents

Between the baby and other family members

Between the baby and friends of the family

Even between the baby and the family pets

Schaffer & Emerson (1964) studied attachment in infants and caregivers in Glasgow, Scotland

From the results of their study, they concluded that there are four stages of attachment

Procedure

Schaffer & Emerson carried out an observational study of 60 infants (ranging from 5 to 23 weeks of age) and their mothers in Glasgow, Scotland

the families were mainly of working-class status

The mothers were visited every four weeks for the first year of the baby's life and again at 18 months of age

During these visits, the mothers were asked questions regarding their infant's reactions to separation in seven everyday situations e.g.

the mother leaving the room

the baby being left alone with another adult

The mothers were asked to record their responses on a four-point scale indicating the intensity of their baby's protests e.g.

whimpering

crying

holding arms out to mother as she left the room

The scale was designed as a measure of separation anxiety and an marker of stranger anxiety

Separation anxiety is distress shown by an infant when they are separated from their caregiver

Stranger anxiety is distress shown by an infant when approached, picked up or left with a stranger or unfamiliar person

Results

Schaffer & Emerson identified four distinct stages of attachment in the development of infants

Asocial stage

Indiscriminate attachment

Specific attachment

Multiple attachments

Reciprocity

Reciprocity is a type of interaction between two people

Infants interact with their caregivers in a reciprocal way

The caregiver and the infant respond to each other's signals, facial expressions etc and each gets a response from the other e.g. a caregiver may smile at their baby and the baby smiles back

Babies show reciprocity to their caregivers from birth

Throughout the day babies will have periods of alertness in which they are more receptive to being interactive

This may look like tracking their caregiver around the room, making eye contact or verbal signals

The caregivers should be able to detect and pick up on these periods of alertness around two-thirds of the time (Feldman 2007)

Stress and distractions can contribute to alertness signals being missed (Feldman 2007)

The interaction between the infant and caregiver is a two-way process where babies take an active involvement just as much as the caregiver

Brazelton et al. (1975) described the interaction between infants and caregivers as a 'dance' where each is responding to the other person's moves

The reciprocal relationship between infant and caregiver lays the foundations for secure attachment

The Still Face experiment

Tronick (1972) devised an experiment to give an insight into how a parent’s reactions can affect the emotional development of a baby - the Still Face Experiment

Procedure:

An infant is sat opposite their caregiver, sitting face to face

The caregiver interacts with the baby, responding to their cues and noises and facial expressions

The caregiver then turns their face away from the infant for a few seconds

The caregiver then returns to face their infant but has a 'still face' and does not interact with the infant or respond to them for two minutes

The caregiver then repairs with their infant and returns to their normal responsive behaviour

Findings:

During the first phase, infants are engaged with their caregiver and responding to cues and interaction from their caregiver - they show reciprocity

Once the 'still face' phase of the experiment begins, infants show changes to their behaviour:

Confusion initially

Attempts initiate a response from their caregiver

Distress and frustration

Loss of postural control - the infant's central nervous system becomes so overwhelmed that they physically collapse

Withdrawn and no longer attempting to get their caregiver's attention

During the repair, the infant is relieved and responsive to their caregiver; the infant is quickly able to regulate its emotions and play resumes easily

The findings of the Still Face experiment suggest that infants try to achieve a connection with their caregivers

Infants can actively engage and shape social interaction with their caregivers

Infants were once thought to be unable to understand emotions; the 'Still Face' experiment shows they have a clear reaction to a lack of emotional connection from their caregiver

Interactional synchrony

Interactional synchrony is the mirroring action of facial expressions, bodily movements and/or emotions between two people

Synchrony refers to the co-ordinated manner in which these actions take place

This can be evident between a caregiver and an infant

Interactional synchrony is another important process to enable secure attachment between an infant and caregiver

Isabella et al. (1989) found, during a study of 30 mothers and their babies, that those with higher levels of synchrony had a more secure attachment

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) carried out a well-known systematic study of interactional synchrony between caregivers and infants

An adult model displayed one of three facial expressions and hand gestures

Initially, a dummy (pacifier) was placed into the infant's mouth to prevent any facial responses

The dummy was then removed and the infant's facial expressions were recorded on video and observations were noted by an independent observer

They found that interactional synchrony began as young as two weeks old when infants could mirror the facial expressions and hand gestures of an adult

Two rows of photos: the top row shows an adult male making tongue out, open mouth, and pursed lips; the bottom row shows a baby mimicking these expressions, labeled a, b, c.

Photographs from Meltzoff and Moore's (1977) study of interactional synchrony in two-three week old infants

This article was published in Science, 198, A. N. Meltzoff, Foundations for developing a concept of self: The role of imitation in relating self to other and the value of social mirroring, social modelling, and self-practice in infancy, 139-164, Copyright Elsevier (1977)

Evaluation

Strengths

Meltzoff and Moore's study on interactional synchrony was filmed

This means that observations can be analysed later and there is no ambiguity to the baby's responses as researchers will not miss any behaviours

Using infants at such a young age (two-three weeks old) means that they are unaware they are being filmed and so their behaviour will not change in response to being recorded (which is more likely with older subjects being filmed)

Therefore data collected will have high validity

Evidence supports Meltzoff and Moore's findings:

Murray and Tervarthen (1985) studied two-month-old infants using interactions with their mothers via a video monitor

When mothers did not interact with their infants, via the monitor, infants showed distress and tried to attract their mother's attention

The infants independently showed a response rather than showing a behaviour that had been rewarded by the mother replicating it back

This suggests that the infant is an active and intentional partner in the infant-caregiver relationship

Limitations

Using infants and babies in research can make it difficult to test their behaviours

Infants lack coordinated movements and tend to move their limbs randomly

Infants 'test' out facial expressions independent from any interaction with an adult or caregiver

It is difficult to distinguish between their general behaviours and specific actions in response to an adult

This means that there is no certainty to the findings

The Still Face Experiment was a lab procedure

This means that it is likely to lack ecological validity and so findings of the experiment may not give an accurate prediction of what would be seen in the real world

A lab experiment may also exaggerate or inhibit certain behaviours that would or would not be present in a real-world setting, such as the baby may already be heightened to being ignored by their parent as they are in an unfamiliar setting