bowlby's monotropic theory

Question 1

what is the monotropic theory?

Answer 1

bowlby argued that children are born with an innate tendency to form attachments with their parents in order to increase their chances of survival

Question 2

adaptive

Answer 2

attachments give humans an advantage, making them more likely to survive. if an infant has an attachment, they’re kept safe and given food and warmth

Question 3

social releasers

Answer 3

infants possess social releasers, unlocking an innate tendency in adults to care for them:
- physical: typical ‘baby face’ features, e.g. big eyes and button nose
- behavioural: crying, cooing, smiling

Question 4

critical period

Answer 4

infants must form an attachment during the critical period (3-6 months of age). he later claimed these could be formed up to 3 years old but successfully forming them would be difficult after the critical period. if an attachment doesn’t form during this time, the child would be emotionally, intellectually and physically damaged for life

Question 5

monotropy

Answer 5

infants will form one special attachment with their primary caregiver. if the mother isn’t available, the infant may bond with another adult (mother substitute)

Question 6

internal working model

Answer 6

this is formed through the monotropic attachment and is an internal template for future relationship expectations. if a child has a healthy attachment with their caregiver, they’ll develop strong relationships in life. if they have a negative attachment to them, they’ll form negative relationships in life

Question 7

give a strength of bowlby’s theory
1/2

Answer 7

supported by research from lorenz. he found that upon hatching, goslings would imprint on the first moving object they saw, during a 12-17 hour critical period, this behaviour appears to be innate as the goslings would have no time to learn it. this research supports bowlby’s idea of a critical period, demonstrating that geese are born with behaviours to aid their survival

Question 8

give a strength of bowlby’s theory
2/2

Answer 8

supported by hazan and shaver (1987). they used a questionnaire - the love quiz - to assess the internal working model. they found a pos correlation between early attachment types and later adult relationships - this supports bowlby’s idea of an internal working model, suggesting childhood experiences impact our later relationships.

Question 9

give a limitation of bowlby’s theory
1/2

Answer 9

there is mixed evidence for the importance of monotropy, its validity is questioned. schaffer and emerson (1964) disprove the idea that infants form one special attachment and instead suggest that while some infants will follow this, others will form multiple attachments simultaneously. bowlby may have been incorrect to assume that all infants will form one special attachment, lowering the validity of his theory

Question 10

give a limitation of bowlby’s theory
2/2

Answer 10

the concept of monotropy may be viewed as socially sensitive, it places a burden and pressure on the primary caregiver to provide a constant presence in the infants’ life, which would limit what they are able to do during the critical period, such as go to work. if something goes wrong in the child’s life, the caregiver may place the blame on themself, and there is a chance that society will blame them too