bowlby's theory

• Bowlby:

  • rejects learning theory + cupboard love
  • proposes an evolutionary explanation, attachment = innate system designed to survive
• evolutionary psychology:

  • form of biological approach + rejects behaviourism and learning theory
• Bowlby's theory:

  • children typically develop 1 strong attachment early on (first weeks of life)
  • more time spent with attachment figure stronger the attachment, time spent apart creates challenges
• law of continuity:

  • the more constant + predictable the childs care the better the quality of attachment
• law of accumulated separation:

  • everytime theyre separated effects add up, safest amount of separation is none
• process of bowlby's theory:

  • child is born
  • child uses social releasers to encourage attachments
  • child + caregiver develop monotropic attachment
  • each subsequent separation damages child's wellbeing
• social releasers:

  • set of innate behaviours infants are born with, activate the adult attachment system
• monotropic:

  • one particular distinct attachment which is central to child's development
• critical period:

  • monotropic attachment must be formed in first 2 years of life, develops into internal working model
  • if it isnt formed in time, may never form at all
  • continued disruption to monotropic attachment can lead to developmental + cognitive problems
• internal working model:

  • future template for all subsequent attachments
• Hazan + Shaver's love quiz:

  • created questionnaire to assess people's attachments
  • correlated data with assessments of participants parental attachements
• EVALUATION: support for internal working model

  • love quiz found positive correlation between early attachments + later relationships
  • Bailey et al - research with 99 mothers, found those with poor attachment more likely to have children who were poorly attached
  • early childhood experiences do affect our later lives, supports internal working model
• EVALUATION: support for social releasers

  • Brazelton et al - observed babies + mothers during interactions + found interactional synchrony
  • further observation to experiment - primary caregivers told to ignore babies signals, became distressed, curled up into fetal position
  • child response was strong, supports Bowlby's ideas about significance of infant social behaviour in establishing early attachments
• EVALUATION: alternative explanations (individual differences)

  • Kagan - proposed temperament hypothesis - childs genetically inherited personality traits play a role in forming attachments
  • infants have differing temperaments due to biological makeup - some sociable+ easy, some anxious + difficult, Bowlby ignores this + focuses on early childhood experiences and quality
  • oversight as personality differences can influence secure/insecure attachments - theory may be incomplete
• EVALUATION: mixed evidence for monotropy

  • schaffer + emerson: infants can form multiple attachments - 27% formed joint attachment
  • fact challenges idea that infants need one attachment that supersedes all others + forms foundations for future relationships
  • conflicting evidence for central concept for monotropy challenges theory as a whole