ao3

• monotropy 


  • lacks validity
  • schaffer + emerson (1964) → found that most babies attached to one person, but a minority did form multiple attachments at the same time. this disproves bowlbys theory that we make ONE attachment.
  • the first attachment is stronger, but no necessarily different in quality from other attachments
• social releasers


  • brazelton et al (1975) → observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers. instructed adults to ignore the babies social releasers, which causes them to be distressed, and curl up becoming motionless.

  this illustrates the role of social releasers in emotional development and suggests the importance for attachment
• social releasers 


  • isabella et al (1989) → international synchrony is important for attachment. this is using social releasers from the baby
  • tronick (1978) → the still face experiment, showed that when adults didn't interact with babies social releasers, it caused them distress
• internal working model


  • bailey et al (2007) → mothers quality of attachment with own primary attachment figure, influenced the quality of attachment with their baby.
  • bailey et al, supports bowlby, as the mothers ability to form attachments to baby is i flunced by internal working models which comes from own early attachment experiences
• counter to internal working model by bowlby

  • overstated the importance of the internal working model in social behaviour and parenting at the expense of other factors.
  • kornienko 2016 - genetic differences in anxiety and sociability, affect social behaviour for baby and adult
  • the differences impact parenting ability
• • bailey et al (2007) → 99 mothers assessed the quality of attachment with their child
  • measured mothers attachment with own primary attachment figure
  • found that mothers with poor attachment to own primary attachment figure were more likely to have poorly attached babies
• real world applications 


  day care key workers, build attachments with particular babies
• P - alternative explanation for the apparent continuity in styles of attachment lies in jerome kagans temperament hypothesis (1984)

  E - kagan notes that innate temperamental characteristics which made infants 'easy' or 'difficult' had a serious impact on the quality of the mother- infant relationship and thus the attachment type. these innate temperamental characteristics would influence the individual throughout life and thus love relationships

  L- the child can have an impact on the type of attachment they form (they are not passive), the adult is not solely responsible.
• P - monotropy, controversial idea as major implications for the choices parents make when deciding to work and send their child to childcare or be stay at home mum/ dads

  E - burman (1994) points out, belief of bowlby sets up mothers to take the blame for anything that goes wrong in the child's future (restricts the mothers activities and prevents them returning to work)

  E - bowlby times the mothers role was not important, custody disputes often favoured the father

  L - not bowlby intention, he saw himself as boosting the status of mothers and emphasising the importance of their role