bowlby evolutionary theory of attachment

Question 1

what does bowlby suggest ?

Answer 1

attatchment is an innate process that serves an important evolutionary function

Question 2

what are the key features of bowlby?

Answer 2

adaptive
social releasers
critical period
monotropy
evolutionary
reciprocal
internal working model
innate
survival

Question 3

monotropy

Answer 3

there is one main attachment figure, only 1 attachment is made

Question 4

innate

Answer 4

attachment is pre programmed and is not learnt

Question 5

survival/adaptive

Answer 5

attachment is adaptive and necessary for survival

Question 6

social releasers

Answer 6

the infant has innate social releasers e.g smiling to unlock the adults caring behaviour

Question 7

critical period

Answer 7

attachment mus be made by 2 and a half years or there will be life long negative consequences, a person could become emotionally , physically and intelectually stunted if the attachment isnt formed

Question 8

internal working model

Answer 8

our first monotropic attachment is the blueprint for all future relationships

the model represents a mental view of relationships with the primary figure and acts as a template for all future relationships

Question 9

evolutionary

Answer 9

attachment is an evolved social behaviour

Question 10

evaluation of bowlby- shaffer and emmerson

Answer 10

goes against bowlbys idea of monotropy as they say that babys form multiple attachments e.g secondary attachments

this goes agasint monotropy as more than 1 attachment has been made

Question 11

evaluation of bowlby: harlows monkey

Answer 11

it supports monotropy as the rhesus monkeys became attached with the cloth surrogate mother and stayed with it for 22 hours a day, this supports monotropy as the monkeys formed the attachment with one mother

it supports the critical period - monkeys have a critical period for 90 days

it supports the internal working model as monkeys struggled to form attachments with other monkeys in later life if attachments were not made within 90 days

Question 12

evaluation of bowlby: lorenz

Answer 12

supports bowlbys idea of attachment being innate, geese imprinted and attached to lorenz immediately so the attachment was innate (natural)

lorenz also supports monotropy as lorenzs geese only formed 1 attachment

supports bowblys idea of critical periods as geese have a critical period (just after hatching)

Question 13

hazan and shaver

Answer 13

supports bowlbys internal working model
gave a love questionnare which identified peoples attachment style with their parents and attachment style with their partner. they found that many people had the same attachment style with their parents and partners

this shows how a persons first attachment (parent) is the blueprint for all future attachments

Question 14

bailey et al

Answer 14

through the observation of 99 mothers and the recording of their childs attachment type through the strange situation it was found that poor insecure attachments coincided with the mothers themselves reporting poor attachments with their own parents

this supports the internal working model, the first attachment made is the blueprint for future relationships and can impact the ability of children becoming parents themselves in later life

Question 15

temperament hypothesis: kagan

Answer 15

kagan noted that innate temperamental characteristics which made infants easy or difficult had a serious impact on the quality of the mother infant relationship and their attachment type

therefore innate characteristics would influence the individual throughout their life and their love relationships

Question 16

practical applications

Answer 16

hospital practices have since been changed due to bowblys theory e,g 24 hour visiting times for parents,]

the importance of seperation from parents has been recognised from bowlbys theory

Question 17

socially sensetive research

Answer 17

monotropy can be socially sensetive
although bowlby didnt specify that the primary attachment figure must be the mother, it often is (65% of cases)

this puts pressure on working mothers to delay their work to ensure a child develops a secure attachment

any developmental abnormalities in term of attachment are therefore blamed on the mother