Bowlby's theory

• attachment is innate, like imprinting


  Bowlby gave an evolutionary explanation: that attachment is an innate system that gives a survival advantage. imprinting and attachment evolved because they ensure young animals stay close to their caregivers and this protects them from harm.
• monotropic = a primary attachment figure

  Bowlby's theory is described as monotropic because of it's emphasis on this child's attachment to one single caregiver.
• more time spent with the mother-figure is beneficial 


  Bowlby believed that the more time a baby spent with the primary attachment figure the better, due to: the law of continuity and the law of accumulated separation
• law of continuity

  the more constant a child's care, the better the quality of attachment
• law of accumulated separation


  the effects of every separation add up, 'the safest dose is no dose'
• babies are born with social releasers


  these are a set of innate 'cute' behaviours that encourage attention from adults. their purpose is to activate the adult attachment system - attachment is a reciprocal system
• there is a critical period


  Bowlby proposed there is a critical period of up to two years when the infant attachment system is active. if a child hasn't formed an attachment within this period, they will find it much harder to later
• the first attachment forms an internal working model of relationships


  Bowlby argued that the child forms a mental representation of the relationship with the primary attachment figure. this internal working model serves as a 'template' for what relationships are like. internal working models may affect the child's future parenting
• strength of Bowlby's monotropic attachment theory - clear supporting evidence


  Brazleton instructed primary attachment figures to ignore their babies' social releasers. babies initially showed some distress, but eventually some curled up and lay motionless. this supports Bowlby's ideas about the significance of infant social behaviour eliciting caregiving and the role of releasers in initiating social interaction
• strength of Bowlby's monotropic theory - support for the idea of an internal working model


  the idea of internal working models predicts that patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next. Bailey studied 99 mothers; those with poor attachment to own parents were more likely to have one year olds who were poorly attached. this supports Bowlby's idea of IWMs being passed through families.
• limitation of Bowlby's monotropic theory - evidence for monotropy is mixed


  Schaffer and Emerson found that most babies did attach to one person at first, but a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time. this contradicts Bowlby's assertion that babies form one attachment to a primary caregiver and that this attachment is unique. attachment to mothers better predicts later behaviour, but this may be because the mother is the primary attachment, not the different attachment quality
• Limitation of Bowlby's theory is monotropy is socially sensitive due to implications of mothers' lifestyle. 


  The law of accumulated separation states that having substantial time apart from a primary caregiver risks poor quality attachment that will later disadvantage the child. Feminists (Burman) argue that mothers are blamed for anything that goes wrong in a child's life and pushes mothers into making lifestyle choices, e.g. not returning to work when a child is born. This was not Bowlby's intention, he attempted to boost the status of mothers by showing the importance of their role.