Attachment: Bowlby's Monotropic Theory Flashcards
what’s Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?
an evolutionary theory. it states attachments are innate. there are 5 parts of his theory.
what’s adaptive?
attachments are an advantage or beneficial to survival as it ensures a child is kept safe, warm and fed.
what’s social releasers?
a cute baby face. they unlock the innate tendency for adults to care for a child because they activate the mammalian attachment system.
what’s the critical period?
the time in which an attachment can form. up to 3 years. if an attachment isn’t found in this time, it never will. the person will be emotionally, intellectually and physically stunted.
what’s monotropy?
one carer. 1 special intense attachment that is unique and stronger than others. maternal deprivation is a lack of a mother figure during the critical period results in emotional and intellectual development deficits.
what’s the internal working model?
the area of the brain responsible for mental schemas for relationships where information that tells you how to behave is stored. it’s our perception of the attachment we have with our primary caregiver.
what’s the supporting evidence for Bowlby’s montropic theory? (A03)
Bailey observed 99 mothers and recorded their childrens attachment types. the researchers found that poor insecure attachment coincided with the mothers having poor attachment with their own parents. this suggests the internal working model are likely to be formed during this first initial attachment and has significant impact on the child’s ability to become parents in later life.
how is Monotropy an example of socially sensitive research? (A03)
despite Bowlby not specifying that the primary attachment figure must be the mother (65%). it puts pressure on working mothers to delay their return to work in an effort to ensure that their child develops a secure attachment. any developmental abnormalities are blamed on the mother by default. this suggests that monotropy pressures them to take responsiblities.
how is monotropy not evident in all children?
Schaffer + Emerson found that a small minority of children were able to form multiple attachments from the outset. this idea is supported by Van Izjendoorn + Kronenberg who found monotropy is scarce in collectivist cultures where the whole family is involved in raising the child. this means monotropy is unlikely to be a universal feature of infant-caregiver attachment. so is limited.
