3.3: Bowlby's monotropic theory

Question 1

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks)

Answer 1

Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety

Question 2

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
What do babies use?

Answer 2

Babies use signals (social releasers)

Question 3

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to do what?

Answer 3

Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer

Question 4

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, why?

Answer 4

Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction takes place to form an attachment bond between them

Question 5

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example what, takes place to form an attachment bond between them?

Answer 5

Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them

Question 6

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a what for attachment to take place?

Answer 6

There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place

Question 7

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is how long?

Answer 7

There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years

Question 8

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
Who is this attachment also to?

Answer 8

This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy

Question 9

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
What did Bowlby say that the attachment to a primary caregiver does?

Answer 9

Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships

Question 10

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
What does the model represent?

Answer 10

The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver

Question 11

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as what?

Answer 11

The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships

Question 12

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and what is the evolutionary explanation?

Answer 12

The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival

Question 13

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

First AO3 PEEL paragraph

Answer 13

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed

Question 14

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
Who is this supported by?

Answer 14

This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers

Question 15

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
What does this do?

Answer 15

This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory

Question 16

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory.

Second AO3 PEEL paragraph

Answer 16

The second AO3 PEEL paragraph is that Bowlby underestimated the role of the father

Question 17

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory.

The second AO3 PEEL paragraph is that Bowlby underestimated the role of the father.
What did Bowlby see the father’s role as?

Answer 17

Bowlby saw the father’s role as primarily economic

Question 18

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory.

The second AO3 PEEL paragraph is that Bowlby underestimated the role of the father.
Bowlby saw the father’s role as primarily economic.
What view is this?

Answer 18

This is an outdated, sexist view

Question 19

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory.

The second AO3 PEEL paragraph is that Bowlby underestimated the role of the father.
Bowlby saw the father’s role as primarily economic.
This is an outdated, sexist view.
Example

Answer 19

For example, Field found that families could have the father as the primary caregiver and that they, like primary caregiver mothers, spent more time showing sensitive responsiveness

Question 20

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory.

The second AO3 PEEL paragraph is that Bowlby underestimated the role of the father.
Bowlby saw the father’s role as primarily economic.
This is an outdated, sexist view.
For example, Field found that families could have the father as the primary caregiver and that they, like primary caregiver mothers, spent more time showing sensitive responsiveness.
What does this suggest?

Answer 20

This suggests that Bowlby’s monotropic theory is not valid

Question 21

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory.

The second AO3 PEEL paragraph is that Bowlby underestimated the role of the father.
Bowlby saw the father’s role as primarily economic.
This is an outdated, sexist view.
For example, Field found that families could have the father as the primary caregiver and that they, like primary caregiver mothers, spent more time showing sensitive responsiveness.
This suggests that Bowlby’s monotropic theory is not valid.

Third AO3 PEEL paragraph

Answer 21

The third AO3 PEEL paragraph is that despite criticism, Bowlby’s monotropic theory has been highly influential and it has had an enormous impact on the care of children

Question 22

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory.

The second AO3 PEEL paragraph is that Bowlby underestimated the role of the father.
Bowlby saw the father’s role as primarily economic.
This is an outdated, sexist view.
For example, Field found that families could have the father as the primary caregiver and that they, like primary caregiver mothers, spent more time showing sensitive responsiveness.
This suggests that Bowlby’s monotropic theory is not valid.

The third AO3 PEEL paragraph is that despite criticism, Bowlby’s monotropic theory has been highly influential and it has had an enormous impact on the care of children.
Example

Answer 22

For example, as a result of Bowlby’s research on the critical period for attachment, adoptions now take place as early as possible to increase the likelihood for a successful attachment bond to occur between the child and the adoptive parents

Question 23

Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (16 marks).
Infants have an innate drive to survive and babies seek proximity to their carer (usually their biological mother) for safety.
Babies use signals (social releasers) to attract the carer, so that caregiver-infant interaction, for example reciprocity, takes place to form an attachment bond between them.
There is also a critical (sensitive) period for attachment to take place that is approximately up to 2 years.
This attachment is also to a single specific caregiver - monotropy.
Bowlby said that the attachment to a primary caregiver provides a child with an internal working model of relationships.
The model represents the relationship with the primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships and the evolutionary explanation is that security equals survival.

The first AO3 PEEL paragraph is that However, mothers are not special in the way that Bowlby believed.
This is supported by Rutter, who found that infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and that there is no particular attachment behaviour used specifically and exclusively towards mothers.
This lessens support for Bowlby’s theory.

The second AO3 PEEL paragraph is that Bowlby underestimated the role of the father.
Bowlby saw the father’s role as primarily economic.
This is an outdated, sexist view.
For example, Field found that families could have the father as the primary caregiver and that they, like primary caregiver mothers, spent more time showing sensitive responsiveness.
This suggests that Bowlby’s monotropic theory is not valid.

The third AO3 PEEL paragraph is that despite criticism, Bowlby’s monotropic theory has been highly influential and it has had an enormous impact on the care of children.
For example, as a result of Bowlby’s research on the critical period for attachment, adoptions now take place as early as possible to increase the likelihood for a successful attachment bond to occur between the child and the adoptive parents.
This what is thus a major strength of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 23

This real-world application is thus a major strength of Bowlby’s theory