Attachment Flashcards
what was bowlbys second theory of attachment
monotropic theory
what was Bowlbys monotropic theory
Shows how one attachment is formed
The thoery puts an emphasis on a child’s attachment to one primary caregiver - the first attachment made is the most important and the more time spent with this person the better
the two laws within the mono tropic theory
law of continuity
law of accumulated separation
what is the law of continuity
the more consistent and predictable a Childs care is, the better the quality of attachment
what is the law of accumulated separation
the effects of every separation from the mother adds up
what is the critical period and who suggested it
Bowlby
Suggests that the attachment needs to be formed in the first 2.5 years of a Childs life, or it will never happen and the damage will be irreversible
evaluation of the critical period
It is deterministic
it doesn’t give parents an option - particularly mothers
was later revised to be a sensitive period as research has proved that children adopted after 2.5 years formed attachments - Czech twins
what are social releasers
innate ‘cute’ behaviours
there purpose is to activate the adult attachment system
include - crying, smiling
is a reciprocal process
why is monotropy socially sensitive
it involves guilt - puts blame on mothers for possible poor attachments in children
it puts women under pressure to stay at home rather that work as they don’t want their children to suffer from the irreversible consequences
economic implication of mono tropic theory
if women aren’t working they aren’t paying taxes, therefore the government has less money for things such as education and the NHS
women will also have less disposable income as they aren’t working
examples of research that supports bowlbys mono tropic theory
Lorenz - research also supports the idea of attaching to a stimuli - content when close to stimuli, distressed when separated - the speed in which it happens suggests that we have an innate ability to attach to stimuli
Ainsworth - studied a Ganda tribe in Uganda - discovered that one primary attachment was formed even when raised by multiple caregivers
Bailey - 99 mothers, 99 mothers, 99 babies - wanted to see if their was continuity in attachment style - found that those who had poor attachments with their mothers had poor attachments with their babies
Czech twins study
supports the idea of sensitive period
when they were discovered at 7 years old after being locked away from 7 months old, they were adopted by two sisters who gave them very good care
the twins went on to get good jobs and degrees, both got married and had children
shows that children can formed attachments after critical period
