Bowlbys theory

• Monotropy- child forms an attachment to one primary caregiver. The more consistent a child's care, the better quality attachment
• Critical period is from 6 months to 2.5 years, an attachment must be formed in this time
• Social releasers are behaviours [ smiling, cooing and gripping] which encourage attention from adults in order to build a relationship
• Internal working model - a child's first attachment [ primary caregiver] serves as a model for future relationships
• If a child has a bad first attachment, future relationships will be impacted
• A strength if bowlbys theory is research supporting how the relationship with the caregiver impacts future relationships
• A strength of bowlbys theory is its real life applications in childcare to aid attachment
• A weakness of bowlbys theory is that research [schaffer and emmerson] show that children are able to form multiple attachments, contradicting the monotropic theory
• A weakness of bowlbys theory is that supporting research [ lorenz ] is ungeneralisable to humans as it is an animal study