bowlby’s theory of attachment

• Bowlbys theory is ...

  mono-tropic
• why is bowlbys theory mono-tropic

  the emphasis on the child's attachment to one caregiver which is different and more important than others
• why did bowlby believe that infants form an attachment to one certain person

  as a survival advantage
• what did bowlby mean be this is an evolutionary explination

  if an infants stays close to a certain person it will ensure the infant has food and protection
• what did bowlby believe about spending more time with and infant

  that the primary attachment will strengthen and get better because of the law of continunity
• what is the law of continuity

  the more constant a child's cared for the netter the quality of attachment
• what is the law of accumulated separation

  the effects of every separation adds up meaning the more a primary attachment figure and infant is separated the weaker the attachment
• what is the safest dose of law of accumulated separation

  zero dose
• what did bowlby suggest babies are born with

  a set of innate 'cute' behaviours called social releasers
• what are 3 examples of social releasers

  1. smiling
  2. cooing
  3. gripping
• what is the purpose of social releasers

  to activate the adult attachment system
• what do social releasers encourage


  attention from the adults
• what is the critical period

  2 years when the infants attachment system is active
• what happens is an attachment is not formed in the critical period

  the infant will find it much harder to form one later
• what does the first attachment form

  the internal working model
• what is the internal working model

  a child forms a mental representation of the relationship with their primary attachment figure which serves as a template for what relationships look like
• what types of internal working model will a child who was raised lovingly form

  a child's whose first experience is a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are loving and reliable
• what type of internal working model will a child who grew up treated poorly form

  a child's whose first relationship involves poor treatment may epect such treatment from others
• what may the internal working model affect later in life

  the child's later ability to be a parent themselves
• what is one limitation of bowlbys theory of attachment (PEEL)

  P - the evidence for monotony is mixed

  E - Schaffer found that most babies did attach to one person at first

  E - But a significant amount of babies formed multiple attachments at the same time. For example, Schaffer found that 27% of children form a joint attachment with the mother and father as primary attachment figures

  L - this contradicts bowlby's idea that babies form one attachment to a primary caregiver and that this attachment is unique
• what is one strength of bowlbys theory of attachment (PEEL) (social releasers)

  P - however there is clear evidence to support the existance of social releasers

  E - Tronick observed mother and their babies during interactions. They then asked the primary attachment figure to maintain a static, emotionless face and ignore the baby

  E - the baby tried to tempt the adult by smiling but when there signals were ignored the baby became distressed and tried to re-engage the adult

  L - this shows the importance of social releaser in creating an attachment between caregiver and baby
• what is one strength of bowlbys theory of attachment (PEEL) (internal working model)

  P - there is also good support for the ideas of an internal working model

  E - Bailey assessed mother and their one year old babies on the quality of their attachment using interviews and observations

  E - mothers who reported poor attachment to their own parents in interview were found to be classified as having a poor attachment to their baby during observations

  L - this suggests that bowlby was correct and an internal working model of attachment was passed through families