Bowlby's monotropic theory

• An evolutionary basis to attachment as they provide survival value. Attachments evolved via a process of natural selection to ensure offspring stayed close to caregivers. The infant is programmed with behaviours that keep them close to a preferred figure who will keep them safe.
• Infants are born with an innate tendency to form an attachment. They have inbuilt behaviours that they can use to keep an attachment figure close. They use social releasers to do this such as crying, smiling and keeping eye contact. These stimulate adult interaction and elicit caregiving.
• According to Bowlby, infants have a need to form a special kind of attachment to one primary figure, known as monotropy. This attachment will be qualitatively different to any other attachment that the child will make.

  • suggested that they must form this in the critical period of the first three years of their life otherwise they will not be able to form an attachment
  • proposed that there is a period of about 6 months where the infant attachment system is active ; viewed this as a more sensitive period where the infant is maximally sensitive at 6 months and this possibly extends up to 2 years
  • IF not formed during this time, it is hard to form one later
• Bowlby also suggested that forming an attachment provides the infant with an internal working model which acts as a cognitive framework (a mental template) for all future relationships, based on the infants primary attachment.

  • children who develop secure attachments as infants are more likely to have effective relationships throughout their lives known as the continuity hypothesis
• A03

  • Supporting evidence comes from Schaffer and Emerson who showed that in 65% cases the mother was the primary attachment figure, thus supporting his idea of monotropy.
  • Fathers were the joint in first attachment in 27% cases which supports the idea that fathers can also be the monotropic figure
  • AND 39% was not the person that fed, bathed or clothed them which supports the idea that emotional security is more important than food as the basis for forming an attachment
• A03

  Lorenz found baby greylag goslings would imprint on the first moving object that they saw in the first few hours thus supporting the evolutionary basis of attachment as the geese remained close to the attachment figure. This also supports the idea of a critical period in which an attachment must be made.
• A03

  Alternative explanations

  • Kagan - temparament hypothesis.
  • why we form an attachment other than evolution
  • infants have an innate personality which influences the quality of their attachment with their caregivers and later relationships with their adults
• A03

  The idea of this is socially sensitive as Bowlby suggested that women should primarily be the attachment figure. Feminists are critical as it places a burden of responsibility on mothers, setting them up to take the blame for anything that goes wrong in their lives. It can also be added that Bowlby sees a father role as lesser than a mothers, which can also be argued by Field or Schaffer and Emerson.