Monotropy

• Continuity hypothesis

  emotionally secure infants go on to be emotionally secure, trusting, and socially confident adults
• Babies have critical period for attachment of around 3 to 6 months, and those who do not form any in this time will have more difficulty later on
• Bowlby suggests attachment determined by sensitivity

  • Views influenced by Ainsworth - saw type B attached infants had more responsive mothers, these babies being more cooperative and accessible than other attachment types
• Monotropy is the theory that the one relationship an infant has with his/her PCG is of special significance in emotional development
• Social releasers (smiling, ect) important in attachment forming
• Child's internal working model of relationships based off PAF, impacts all later relationships in long term and generates expectations about what love and intimacy is
• Bowlby suggests attachment mechanism develops after 3 months, late if we develop attachments for survival

  • Our ancestors found it critical to become attached immediately after birth (monkeys gripping mother's fur). Maybe later for us as we don't have to cling, parents will just pick up/hold us, attachment only becomes more important after infants begin to crawl and move on their own
• Critical period not permanent, more just sensitive period, attachments only less likely to form after 6 months, not impossible (Rutter et al)

  • critical period just when infants more receptive to making attachments
• Multiple attachments can fit into Bowlby, many socially useful secondary AFs, but still on primary/important AF, supported by Prior and Glaser (2006)
• Continuity hypothesis tested, Minnesota parent-child study (Sroufe et al 2005), those classed as securely attached more socially competent as adults, vice versa for the opposite, supports hypothesis
• Kagan (1984)

  Infants innate temperament may explain attachment behaviour, those with easy temperament more secure, those who are more difficult insecure