bowlby's monotropic theory

Question 1

what was bowlby influenced by?

Answer 1

• evolutionary theory ie. the idea that attachment was an innate system that gives a survival advantage
• lorenz and harlow, especially the idea of imprinting

Question 2

for what reason did attachment evolve?

Answer 2

as a mechanism to keep young animals safe by ensuring they stay close to adult caregivers

Question 3

why is bowlby’s theory (1958, 1969) described as monotropic?

Answer 3

because he placed great emphasis on a child’s attachment to one particular caregiver

Question 4

how would this one caregiver be different?

Answer 4

• they are more important than others
• the more time spent with this mother-figure (primary attachment figure) the better
• although bowlby called this person ‘the mother’, it does not need to be the biological mother or a woman

Question 5

what is the law continuity?

Answer 5

it states that the more constant and predictable a child’s care, the better the quality of their attachment

Question 5

what is the law of accumulated separation?

Answer 5

it states that the effects of every separation from the mother add up so it is best to not be separated from the mother at all

Question 6

what are social releasers?

Answer 6

a set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours like smiling, cooing and gripping that encourage attention from adults, which babies are born with

Question 7

what is the purpose of social releasers?

Answer 7

to activate adult social interaction and so make an adult attach to the baby

Question 8

what is bowlby’s critical period?

Answer 8

• around six months when the infant attachment system is active
• he viewed it as more of a sensitive period so a child is maximally sensitive at six months but this extends up to the age of two
• if an attachment is not formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later

Question 9

what is an internal working model?

Answer 9

a mental representation of the relationship between a child and their primary attachment figure which the child forms. it serves as a model for what relationships are like

Question 10

how does the internal working model affect future relationships?

Answer 10

if a child’s first experience is a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver, they will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable and bring these qualities to future relationships, and vice versa

Question 11

what effect does the internal working model have on parenting?

Answer 11

• it affects the child’s later ability to be a parent themselves
• people tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented
• this is why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves

Question 12

evaluation: concept of monotropy lacks validity

Answer 12

• schaffer and emerson (1964) found that some babies formed multiple attachments
• first attachment having a strong influence on later behaviour implies that it is stronger, not that it is different in quality from the child’s other attachments
• bowlby may be incorrect that there is a unique quality and importance to child’s primary attachment

Question 13

evaluation: evidence which supports the role of social releasers

Answer 13

• brazelton et al. (1975) observed babies trigger interactions from caregivers
• when researchers instructed babies’ primary attachment figures to ignore their social releasers, they became increasingly distressed, even though they were previously shown to be normally responsive
• shows the role of social releasers in emotional development and suggests that they are important in the process of attachment development

Question 14

evaluation: support for internal working model

Answer 14

• heidi bailey et al. (2007) assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their one-year-old babies
• the researchers measures the mothers’ attachment to their own primary attachment figures and the attachment quality of the babies
• they found that mothers with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies
• supports bowlby’s idea that internal working model predicts that patterns of attachment are passed from one generation to the next

Question 15

evaluation: (counterpoint) no support for internal working model

Answer 15

• there are other important influences on social development
• kornienko (2016) believed that genetic differences in anxiety and sociability affect social behaviour in both babies and adults. these differences could impact parenting ability
• bowlby may have overstated the importance of the internal working model in social behaviour and parenting at the expense of other factors

Question 16

evaluation: feminist concerns

Answer 16

• laws of continuity and accumulated separation suggest that mothers who work may negatively affect their child’s emotional development
• erica burman (1994) points out that this belief sets up mothers to take the blame for anything that goes wrong in the child’s future
• also gives people an excuse to restrict mothers’ activities, such as returning to work

Question 17

evaluation: importance (of mother)

Answer 17

• before bowlby, people didn’t think the mother’s role was important
• many custody disputes were settled in favour of the father as mothers were not regarded as necessary
• bowlby’s ideas have many real-world applications, such as key workers in day day care who build an attachment with particular babies