Attachment - Bowly’s Theory Flashcards
What did Bowlby propose?
That attachment is innate and he proposed an evolutionary explanation of attachment as he rejected the learning theory because he said an infant would then take readily to whomever feeds them which is untrue.
What is a Monotropy?
A child attachment to one particular person he believed that the child’s attachment of this one caregiver is different and more important than others. Normally it was the mother but it did not need to be the biological mother or indeed a woman the more time infant infant spent with this caregiver, the stronger the attachment.
What is the law of continuity?
States that the more constant and predictable a child’s care the better the quality of their attachment.
What is the law of accumulated separation?
States that the effects of every separation from the mother add up and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose.
What is the critical period?
The time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all. Lorenz and Harlow noted the attachment in birds and monkeys had critical periods. Bowlby extended the idea to humans proposing that the babies have a sensitive period after which it will be much more difficult to form an attachment.
What are social releasers?
Babies are born with eight cute behaviours like smiling cooing gripping these all encourage attention from adults. He calls their social releases because their purpose is to activate adult social interaction and so make an adult attach the baby.
What is the internal working model?
A child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary attachment figure. BG a child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver they will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable.
