Bowlbys monotropic theory

• Attachment


  Innate, like imprinting
• Bowlby's evolutionary explanation of attachment

  • Attachment is an innate system that gives a survival advantage
  • Imprinting and attachment occurs to young animals to ensure they stay near their caregivers to protect them
• Monotropic


  A primary attachment figure
• Bowlby's theory of attachment


  Described as monotropic because of the emphasis on the child's attachment to one person
• More time spent with mother

  Beneficial
• Bowlby's law of continuity


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


  The effects of every separation add up
• Babies


  • Born with social releasers (innate cute behaviours to encourage attention from adults)
  • Used to activate the adult attachment system since attachment is reciprocal
• Critical period


  Bowlby proposed about two years, when the attachment system is active (now seen as a sensitive period)
• If an attachment isn't formed by the end of the two years, the child will find it much harder to make one in the future
• Internal working model of relationships

  • Provides a template of what relationships are like
  • If a child has a good first experience with attachment, all their relationships will be good
  • This model also affects how children will parent later
• The evidence for monotropy is mixed
• Schaffer and Emerson's findings

  • Babies attached to one person at first but a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
  • This contradicts Bowlby's assertion that babies only form one attachment to a primary caregiver and this attachment is unique
• Attachment to the mother


  Determines later behaviour
• This could be because the mother is the primary attachment
• Social releasers


  • There is clear evidence to support their existence and value
• Brazelton et al's study


  1. Primary attachment instructed to ignore babies' social releasers

  2. Babies showed initial distress but eventually curled up in a ball and lay motionless

  3. This supports Bowlby's idea about infants' social behaviour
• Internal working model


  • There is support for the idea
• Pattern of attachment


  Will be passed from one generation to another
• Bailey et al studied 99 mothers; those with poor attachment to their own parents will have poor attachments to their one year olds
• This supports Bowlby's idea of an internal working model of attachment
• Monotropy


  • It is socially sensitive because of implications for mothers' lifestyle
• Law of accumulated separation


  Having substantial time apart from a primary caregiver risks a poor quality attachment
• Feminists state that mothers are blamed for anything that goes wrong in their child's life and this means mothers are pushed to make different lifestyle choices