Explanations of attachment

• Explanations of attachment

  • Learning theory
  • Bowlby's monotropic theory
• Monotropic- the idea that one particular attachment is different from all other and central importance to a childs development
• [Bowlby] attachment is a reciprocal process
• Social releasers- innate 'cute' behaviours that babies are born with to activate adult attention
• Law of continuity- The more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of attachment
• The law of accumulated separation- effects of every seperation from the mother add up and the 'safest dose is therefore a 'zere dose''-[Bowlby]
• Critical period- a time where an attachment must form

  • Harlow-90 days
  • Lorenz-a few hours

  [Bowlby] extended this idea onto humans- 2.5 years-important for psychological development or their will be pscyhological damage
• -Research to contradict the critical period [Rutter]

  • Romanian orphans adopted into stable homes- formed attachments after 2.5 years- at ages 7 and 8
• Internal working model- refers to our mental representations of the world- rs to our primary attachment figure that acts as model for future relationships
• Limitations to the IWM

  -UNSCIENTIFC- idea is unconscious- can only be measured indirectly through interviews/questionnaires=subjectec=cannot be tested or verified
• Strength into IWM

  +Research to support [Bailey et al]

  • Assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and 1 year old babies- found that mothers with poor attachment to their mothers had poorly attached babies