Bowlby's Theory

• Monotropy


  The idea that the one relationship that the infant has with his/her primary attachment figure is of special significance in emotional development.
• Law of continuity (Bowlby's monotropic theory)


  The more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of their attachment.
• Law of accumulated separation


  The effects of every separation from the mother add up

  
• Social releasers


  - Bowlby suggested that babies are born with a set of innate cute behaviours like smiling that encourages the attention from an adult.

  - He called these social releasers as their purpose is to activate the adult attachment system i.e. make an adult feel love towards a child.

  - He also noticed this behaviour was a reciprocal process.

  - Both babies and mothers have innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger that response in caregivers.
• Critical period


  - Bowlby was influenced by Lorenz, believing that attachment was innate & that there was a critical period for it to occur.

  - Bowlby proposed that there is a critical period of around 2 years when the infant attachment system is active.
• Sensitive period


  - 2 years, time child's attachment is active.

  - If not done more difficult to attach later.
• Internal working model


  A set of beliefs and expectations about how people behave in social relationships, and also guidelines for interpreting others' actions, and habitual responses to make in social settings.
• Limitations of Bowlby's theory of attachment

  Validity of monotropy challenged

  - Schaffer and Emerson found a significant minority of babies formed multiple attachments at the same time.
• Strengths of Bowlby's theory of attachment

  Support for social releasers

  - Brazelton et al instructed primary attachment figures to ignore social releasers.

  - The babies got distressed and some curled up and lay motionless.

  
  

  Support for internal working model

  - Bailey et al measured mothers attachments to their own primary attachment figures.

  - Mothers with poor attachment to their primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies.