bowlby's evolutionary theory Flashcards
what does the evolutionary explanation mean
-attachment was an innate system that gives a survival advantage
why is bowlbys theory described as monotropic
-placed great emphasis on a childs attachment to one particular caregiver
-this attachment is more important than others
what 2 principles did Bowlby put forward to clarify his monotropic theory
-the law of continuity
-the law of accumulated separation
what is the law of continuity
-strongly attached infants go on to be socially and emotionally competent as adults
-insecurely attached infants have more difficulties
what is the law of accumulated separation
-the effects of every separation from the mother add up
-the “safest dose is zero dose”
what are social releasers
-behaviours and physical attributes that unlock the innate tendency of adults to care for babies
what did bowlby view the critical period as
-more of a sensitive period
-if attachment is not formed when max sensitivity, will find it harder to form one later
when is the sensitive period of a baby
3 to 6 months
what does the internal working model affect in a childs later life
the ability to be a parent themselves
-base their parenting behaviour of their own experiences so tend to have more functional families
what is the internal working model
-a template for the child’s future adult relationships
what will a child’s future adult relationships be based on
the relationship with the monotropic figure
what are the consequences of not forming attachments during critical period
-child would be damaged for life
-socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically
what are the two types of social releasers
-physical
-behavioural
what are physical social releasers
-the typical baby face features and body proportions
example of behavioural social releasers
-crying, cooing, smiling, gripping
what do attachments give our species and why
-an adaptive advantage
-more likely to survive if attachment means we are kept protected
what does evolutionary psychology attempt to explain
-useful psychological traits as adaptions as the functional products of natural selection
what did bowlby say attachment is
-biologically pre-programmed at birth
in what 2 ways is attachment biologically pre-programmed
-encoded in human genes
-evolves and persist because of its adaptiveness
what are the main assumptions of bowlbys evolutionary theory
-sensitive responsiveness
-attachment correlates to biological development
-monotropy
-critical period
what is sensitive responsiveness
-attachments will form with those who respond to a child’s signals
what are the 5 key parts of Bowlby’s theory of attachment
-Adaptive
-Social releasers
-Critical period
-Monotropy
-Internal working model
how to remember key parts of Bowlby’s theory of attachment
-ascmi like ask me
