bowlbys evolutionary theory

• based on imprinting in birds
• attachment evolved at increases survival on both short and long term
• short term survival ?

  attachment results in desire to maintain proximity, this ensures infant is provided with food protection and safety, suggests social releasers like crying have evolved as humans are programmed to respond to these, this ensures survival of the infant
• long term survival ?

  early attachments influence emotional development via the internal working model, this provides a template for future relationships, if a child forms a good IWM they will have secure romantic relationships- this increases chance of offspring and ensuring the survival of genes
• monotropy hypothesis ?

  one attachment relationship is the most important and more important than all the others
• whats a critical period ?

  time where attachment usually occurs, if it fails to form in a critical period attachments cannot really form, critical period is 2.5 years in humans
• support for IWM?

  love questionnaire, over 600 volunteers completed a questionnaire which consisted of three parts, current relationship experiences, attachment history and attitude towards love, they found childhood attachment types predict later romantic relationships, this supports the IWM
• critique ?

  methodological issues- uses retrospective data which requires people to look far back so accounts may not be correct, as questionnaire participants may be affected by social desirability bias, as volunteer sample its likely to be biased so cannot be generalised, as evidence is flawed IWM and evolutionary theory may be flawed
• critique of iwm ?

  it may not be the IWM that determines adult relationship behaviour, past experinces like witnessing divorce, previous relationships and personality may affect these, therefore this theory is deterministic as childhood attachment may not always determine adulthood attachment
• supporting a03 ?

  efe tribe supports monotropy hypothesis- women let several people breastfeed their child but by six months they have a specific primary attachment to their biological mother. However, different attachment bonds provide different skills so attachments may be equally important and not favoured
• a03 critique ?

  critical period not so absolute, children adopted after critical periods CAN form attachments, therefore 2.5 years may be a sensitive period rather than a cut off point which proves the idea of a critical period is flawed