Bowlby's Theory

• Adaptive


  Attachments are adaptive which means they give humans an advantage, making them more likely to survive. If an infant has an attachment, they are kept safe, given food and kept warm by their caregiver
• Social releaser


  Infants possess inborn social releasers, which unlock an innate tendency in adults (in particular, mothers) to care for them. Social releasers are: physical- 'the baby face' features that make babies appear cute such as big eyes + button nose, behavioural- cry, cooing and smiling to get attention
• Critical period


  Infants must form an attachment with their caregiver during the critical period which is in-between three and six months. Bowlby later acknowledged that infants could form an attachment after this period however he maintained that successful formation of an attachment did not form during this time frame, the child would be damaged for life-socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically
• Monotropy


  Bowlby believed that infants form one very special attachment with their primary caregiver, most frequently the mother. This special intense attachment is called monotropy. If the mothers not available, the infant can bond with another ever present adult known as the mother substitute
• Continuity hypothesis 


  Attachment type as a child continues into adulthood
• Internal working model 


  A template of expectations, like a schema , about how to relate to others formed by early experiences with the primary caregiver and the type of attachment formed
• The internal working model is a special model for relationships. All the childs future adult relationships will be based upon their early attachment relationships. It is the blueprint and a 'cluster of concepts'