A03

• What are the strengths of Bowlby‘s monotropic theory?

  1. Support for social releasers
  2. Support for internal working model
• What are the limitations of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?

  1. Validity of monotropy challenged
  2. Socially sensitive research
• Strength = support for social releasers

  • Evidence supporting idea that infants do initiate social interactions with caregivers, by displaying cute infant behaviours
  • Brazleton et al. (1975) observed interactions between mothers and babies and found presence of interactional synchrony predicted quality
  • They then asked primary attachment figures to ignore their babies’ social releasers
  • The babies showed initial distress, but when the ignoring continued they responded by curling up and lying motionless
  • Places emphasis on the significance of infant social behaviour in eliciting caregiving
• Strength = support for the internal working model

  • Bailey et al. (2007) assessed the attachment quality of 99 mothers and their one-year-old babies
  • They also measured the mothers’ attachment to their own primary attachment figures
  • They found that mothers with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies
  • Supporting Bowlby’s idea that mothers’ ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their internal working model
• Limitation = validity of monotropy challenged

  • Idea of monotropy lacks validity
  • Shaffer and Emerson (1964) found that although most babies did attach to one person at first, a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
  • In 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with mother
  • Additionally, many children form multiple attachments and may not even attach to their mother
• Limitation = socially sensitive research

  • Has major implications for the lifestyle choices mothers make when their children are young
  • The law of accumulated separation states that having substantial time apart from a primary attachment figure risks a poor quality attachment that will disadvantage the child in a range of different ways later
  • Feminist Erica Burman (1994) - this places a burden of responsibility on mothers, setting them up to take blame for anything that goes wrong in child’s life
  • Also suggests mothers should not be separated from child, pushing them to not return to work