Monotropic theory

• Attachment is thought to be biological and instinctive.

  Forming an attachment gives an infant an evolutionary advantage
• Attachment has a survival value

  Bowlby believed babies behaviour has evolved to behave towards their primary caregiver to ensure their survival

  Babies encourage caregiving from others by social releasers such as facial features, smiles and cries. Bonds are formed with adults who are most sensitive to these social releasers.
• Internal working model

  Bowlby believed infants perform one special relationship, this attachment is important in influencing the quality of later social and emotional relationships as it provides a child with a template of the rules and expectations of relationships
• Critical period - special time for attachments to form between the mother and child

  If mothering was delayed for 12 months it was useless for most children and if delayed for 3 years it was almost useless for all children.
• Evaluation - bowlbys work has been very influential as it has stimulated a great deal of research and may ideas of the ideas have been applied to a variety of situations. This led to changes in the way that children are cared for in institutions like orphanages. Showing this research has practical implications for the economy
• Evaluation - may be criticised as being ethnocentric. In many cultures the normal patterns of child upbringing are different, some cultures children are looked after by multiple attachments. Monotropy theory may not be culturally valid.
• Evaluation - the theory does ignores the role of the father as it suggests the mother is the most important for the child to attach to. Times have changed and in many families care is shared between the mother and father.