AO1 - Bowlby's Monotropic theory

• Bowlby’s monotropic theory is an evolutionary explanation of attachment.
• Evolutionary ideas like Bowlby's suggest babies have an innate attachment drive in order to survive.
• Monotropy is a unique strong attachment that infants form to a single caregiver, which is usually the mother.
• A special attachment with one primary caregiver is known as a monotropic bond.
• Bowlby proposed that attachment was innate and adaptive as it has evolutionary advantages as it increases the likelihood of survival and ultimately reproduction of species.
• He suggested 2 reasons that monotropy was important

  1. Law of continuity
  2. Law of accumulated separation
• Law of continuity

  States the more time the baby spent with the caregiver and the more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality attachment they form.
• Law of accumulated separation

  States every separation the caregiver has can add up and therefore the safest number of these is zero.
• Key features of Bowlbys monotropic theory

  1. Attachment is Monotropic
  2. Monotropic Attachment is innate and adaptive
  3. Social releasers
  4. Critical period
  5. Internal working model
• According to Bowlby’s theory, attachment is a set of behaviours that have aided our survival and allowed our genes to continue
• According to Bowlby, infants use social releasers to elicit caregiving and develop monotropic attachments. These include characteristics or behaviours which encourage the caregiver to respond to the baby's needs. ( crying , cute face)
• Bowlby suggests there is a sensitive period during the first 3 years of a child’s life during which attachment must develop to avoid negative effects (physically , socially , intellectually)
• This was previously viewed as a CRITICAL PERIOD suggesting attachments COULD NOT happen after this time, but this was later changed to an ideal sensitive period after which attachment would be very difficult.
• Bowlby also believed in the concept of monotropy – the idea that infants have one primary attachment that is more important than all other secondary attachments
• Attachments provide a secure base for the child to explore the world.
• Bowlby suggests attachments also provide an Internal Working Model, or internalised concept about how relationships work which acts as a template for all later love relationships.
• Internal working model

  This is an individual's template for all future relationships based on their first monotropic attachment relationship.
• The Continuity Hypothesis suggests that there is a clear link between early attachment and later emotional behaviour.