The Monotropic Theory states that the first person who provides consistent care will be attached to more than anyone else.
Monotropy suggests that there can only ever be one primary attachment figure at any given time.
Bowlby's theory is that infants are born with an innate need to form attachments, which helps them survive by ensuring they stay close to their caregiver.
Secure Attachment - The child explores but returns to the parent if they are distressed.
Insecure Resistant/AnxiousAttachment - The child shows signs of distress when separated from the parent and may not explore as much.
Attachment behaviour refers to behaviours such as crying or clinging onto someone when distressed.
Ainsworth identified three different patterns of attachment behaviour - secure, avoidant, and resistant/ambivalent.
Insecure-Avoidant Attachment - The child shows little distress when separated from the parent and does not seek comfort upon reuniting.
Disorganised Attachment - The child appears confused about how to respond to separation and reunification.
Attachment styles have been linked to adult relationships.
Stranger Anxiety occurs between six months and two years old, where children become wary of strangers and prefer familiar people.
Separation Anxiety is seen around nine months old, where babies show anxiety when left alone or out of sight of their mother.
InternalWorkingModels (IWM) refer to mental representations of relationships formed during early childhood experiences.
Ainsworth observed children aged between six months and two years old in a strange room with their parents present. She used the Strange Situation Procedure to assess attachment styles.
Critics argue that there are other factors besides attachment that contribute to adult personality development.
The Criticisms of Bowlby's Theory include the lack of control groups in his research, making it difficult to determine causation.
Ainsworth found that children who had secure attachments were more likely to have positive relationships later on.
The StrangeSituation Procedure involves separating children from their parents and observing how they react upon reunion.
The quality of early relationships can have long term effects on adult mental health according to Bowlby.
Bowlby's theory suggests that infants form attachments based on proximity and responsiveness from caregivers.
Insecurely attached individuals may struggle with intimacy or experience difficulties in their relationships.
Attachment
A strong emotional bond
Attachment
A close emotional relationship between a child and their caregiver
Securely attached infants
Show a desire to be close to their primary caregiver
Show distress when separated, and pleasure when reunited
Features of caregiver-infant interaction
1. Sensitive responsiveness - The caregiver responds appropriately to signals from the infant
2. Imitation - The infant copies the caregiver's actions and behaviour
3. Interactional synchrony - Infant reacts in time with the caregiver's speech and conversation
4. Reciprocity - Taking turns in interaction flows back and forth between the caregiver and infant
5. Motherese - The slow, high-pitched way of speaking to infants
Around 1/3 of infants had at least 5 attachments, though the original attachment was still the strongest
The father's role
The father plays an important role in attachment too
Infants may have their primary attachment to their father rather than their mother
Goodell and Meldrum (2000) found that infants with a secure attachment to their mother were also more likely to have a secure attachment to their father
The more involved a father is in caregiving, the stronger the attachment between father and child
A mother's relationship may be more focused on caring, while a father's relationship is more focused on play
Imprinting
The automatic attachment of young animals to the first moving object they see after hatching
Lorenz's study on imprinting in geese
1. Randomly divided a clutch of greylag goose eggs
2. Observed that goslings from incubator eggs followed Lorenz around just like those from mother's eggs
3. Determined imprinting occurs in a 'critical period' of 13-16 hours after hatching
Imprinting
Fast, automatic process
Unlikely to occur in humans, whose attachments take longer to develop
Using animals in psychological research
Findings may not always generalise to humans
Precocial species like Lorenz's geese are very different from human infants
Provides valuable information that may influence theories and policies, but raises ethical concerns
Learning theory of attachment
Links attachment to pleasure and reward, through classical and operant conditioning