monotropic theory as an explanation

• BOWLBY'S MONOTROPIC THOERY

  1. bowlby rejected learning theory— put forward an important thoery based on the work of ethologists (scientists who study animal behaviour) - was inspired by the work of lorenz & harlow.'the evolutionary theory of attachment'.
  2. saw human beings as being like other animals - attachment is an innate system that promotes survival.
  3. bowlbys theory focuses on:
  4. monotropy.
  5. social releasers.
  6. critical period.
  7. internal working model.
• MONOTROPY

  • concept that infants have an innate capacity to attach primarily to one caregiver.
  • suggests that primary attachment is the most important.
  • bowlby identified this as the mother, but made it clear this does not have to be the biological mother.
  • suggests its benefical for the infant to spend a significant amount of time with the primary attachment figure.
• MONOTROPY

  • the law of continuity - the more predictable and cosistent a child's care is, the better the quality of the attachment.
  • the law of accumulated separation - all separations from the mother add, therefore 0 separations is best.
• SOCIAL RELEASERS

  • infants & carers are innately programmed to become attached.
  • babies are born with innate cute behaviours, called social releasers - designed to elicit a caregiving response in others.
  • it is adaptive for babies to display these behaviours as it ensures their own survival.
  • bowlby recognised attachment was a recipricol process as both the baby and the carer are 'hard-wired' to attach.
• CRITICAL PERIOD

  • innate behaviours usually have a special time period for the development of an attachment.
  • around 6 months is when the infant attachment system is active.
  • bowlby suggests the critical period lasts around 2 years.
  • this can also be called the sensitive period.
  • if attachment doesnt form in this period, it will be difficult to form at all.
• INTERNAL WORKING MODEL (IWM)

  • infants develop a mental representation of their first attachment relationship - has profound influence on the way the child relates to people and acts as a parent in later life.
  • loving relation with carer = loving as a parent.
  • poor treatment from carer = expects poor treatment or treats others poorly.
  • IWM affects child's later ability to be parents themselves.
  • people tend to base their parenting behaviour of their own experience of being parented.
  • explains why children from functional families tend to start similar families themselves.
• STRENGTH - SUPPORT FOR THE IWM

  • bailey et al - tested the idea that patterns of attachment are passed on through generations due to the IWM.
  • found that mothers with poor attachments to their own primary caregiver were more likely to have poorly attached babies.
  • mothers who had bad quality attachments used their experience as a model on what relationships are like.
  • shows early attachments have an effect on future relationships.
• STRENGTH - SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL RELEASERS

  • brazelton et al - observed babies trigger interaction using social releasers, then instructed the babies primary attachment figure to ignore their babies' social releasers - babies became increasingly distressed.
  • shows that cute baby behaviours are designed to elicit interaction from caregivers.
  • illustrates the role of social releasers in emotional development and are important in the process of attachment development.
• LIMITATION - LEARNING THEORY AS AN ALTERNATE EXPLANATION

  • learning theorists argue that attachments are formed through classical and operant conditioning.
  • learning theorists proposed that attachments develop due to the association between the caregiver and food.
  • crying is learnt through negative reinforcement as the baby cries when hungry and stops when fed.
  • in order to prevent discomfort, it cries.
• LIMITATION - MONOTROPY IS A SOCIALLY SENSITIVE TOPIC

  • burman - proposed that the monotropic theory places a huge burden of responsibility on mothers.
  • law of accumulated separation says significant time away from the mother can result in poor-quality attachment.
  • due to this, puts alot of burden on women to make a certain lifestyle choices to accomodate.
  • it is vital that researchers are careful with topics that could have negative implications on wider society.