Bowlby's monotropic theory

• Key assumptions:

  • Attachment is a result of nature
  • Your behaviour is based on biology as it is a result of innate characteristics regarding survival.
  • Infants have a mental model of their relationship with their primary caregiver (their internal working model) and this gives the infant expectations about relationships with others.
  • First attachment is a template for all other relationships
• 5 key features of the monotropic theory:

  1. Innate and Adaptive
  2. Monotropy
  3. Social releasers
  4. Critical period
  5. Internal working model/continuity hypothesis
• 1st feature: Innate & Adaptive

  • Attachment is an adaptive, biological process which is essential for survival
  • Infants have an innate drive to survive
  • Being securely attached will result in survival
• 2nd feature: Monotropy

  • Attachment is at first to a single, specific caregiver
  • Infants seek proximity to this caregiver for safety. This is known as 'safe-base' behaviour.
• 3rd feature: social releasers

  • social releasers are a set of behaviours or characteristics that infants are born with. They provoke a response from others which are designed to attract carer-reciprocity in order to promote the infant's survival
• 4th feature: Critical period

  • The critical period is a specific window of time in which attachment will occur
  • The CP in humans is 0-2 years
  • If attachment doesn't happen in the CP, it will not occur and will negatively impact the child's emotional and cognitive development
• 5th feature: Internal working model\Continuity hypothesis

  • The CH is Bowlby's argument that early life experiences will influence later experiences (e.g. forming an attachment in the CP would form the IWM)
  • The IWM is a mental model of an individual's relationship with their primary caregiver which will give them expectations about relationships with others
• Strength: Supporting evidence for the role of a critical period from Lorenz's animal study. This comes from Lorenz's finding that goslings imprinted within 4 to 25 hours after hatching. This suggests that humans could also have a CP. HOWEVER, the CP has been criticised for being too rigid and may be replaced by the sensitive period. Attachment is more likely to occur during this period, but it is more flexible about when.
• Strength: evidence to support the continuity hypothesis from Kerns. Kerns found that securely attached infants have high quality relationships in childhood whereas insecurely attached infants have friendship difficulties in childhood. This suggests that early attachments form an internal working model or template for other relationships, acting as support for the continuity hypothesis.
• Limitation: alternative explanations for attachment. For example, the learning theory suggests that attachment is a result of nurture, whereas Bowlby thought that attachment is a result of nature. This suggests that Bowlby's theory is not a complete explanation of attachment.
• Limitation: there is mixed evidence for monotropy (one of the key features of the theory). Schaffer and Emerson found that although most infants did attach to one caregiver at first, a significant minority formed multiple attachments from birth. This provides the argument that monotropy is not an essential feature of attachment.
• Bowlby's monotropic theory relating to implications of the economy:

  • father is seen as a secondary attachment figure
  • out-dated, sexist view of attachment and raising children
  • theory suggests women should not return to work until their child is 2 years old
• Key points of monotropic theory:

  • children with an insecure attachment will develop a negative internal working model. This will have a negative effect in later life.
  • children with a secure attachment will develop a positive internal working model. (e.g. if the caregiver is sensitive and responsive). This will have a positive effect in later life.