Bowlby's monotropic theory Flashcards
Why is Bowlby’s monotropic theory the ‘evolutionary explanation’
Believed attachment was an innate system that gives a survival advantage, similar to imprinting for Geese (Lorenz (1930s, 1952))
What does Monotropy mean
Places great emphasis to one particular caregiver. The child’s attachment to this caregiver is more important and different than others. The more time spent with this primary attachment figure, the better
What are Social releasers and why are they used
A set of ‘cute’ behaviours babies are born with that they use to gain attention. The purpose is to activate adult interaction so that the adult attaches to them. Means both mother and baby biologically hard-wired to attach to each other
What is Bowlby’s view on a critical period
There is a critical period of around 6 months when the infant attachment system is active (what he called a sensitive period). Child is maximally sensitive at 6 months and this can possibly extent up to 2 yrs. If attachment is not found during this period, it becomes much harder to form one later
What is the Internal working model
Child forms a mental representation of their relationships with their primary attachment figure. A child whose first experience is of a loving and reliable relationship will expect that all relationships are like that and will then therefore bring those qualities into future relationships. A child with the opposite experience will tend to form poor relationships where they give and expect poor treatment. Also affects the child’s parenting style.
EVAL: What are the Limitations of Bowlby’s monotropic theory
Lacks Validity- Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
Feminist concerns-Suggests that mothers who work may negatively affect their child’s emotional development. Erica Burman (1994)
Kornienko (2016)- Some psychologists believe that genetic differences in anxiety and sociability affect social behaviour in both babies and adults
IWM model is environmental deterministic
EVAL: What are the strengths of Bowlby’s monotropic theory
Support for social releasers- clear evidence that cute behaviours are designed to elicit interaction from caregivers. Brazelton et al. (1975)
Support for internal working model- Bailey et al. (2007)
EVAL: What is BETA BIAS
Exaggerated the differences between the role of the father and mother, suggests fathers’ role is simply to provide resources to the family. Lacks temporal validity and has negative implications for working mothers
EVAL: Why do behaviorists disagree with Bowlby’s findings
Cupboard love learning theory suggests attachment is based on patterns of reinforcement and the association of the mother with the food she provides. Learning theory is well supported by numerous well controlled experiments
EVAL: Why might Bowlby’s source of information for his perspective limit its application
Based on Lorenz’s imprinting study
survival advantages from attachment to primary caregiver
Animal studies are not as applicable to human attachment
STUDIES: What did the Brazelton et al. (1975) study find
Babies trigger interactions with adults using releasers
When the primary attachment figure ignored the social releasers the babies became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up and laid motionless
STUDIES: What did the Bailey et al. (2007) study find
Assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their 1 yr old babies
Measured quality of mother’s attachment w/ primary attachment figure and attachment with baby
Found mothers who had poor attachment to PAF were more likely to have poorly attached babies
STUDIES: What did the Schaffer and Emerson (1964) study find to contradict Bowlby
A significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
The first attachment may just be stronger, instead of being different or having better quality
E.g. other attachments can be used as a safe base
STUDIES: What did Erica Burman (1994) say about Bowlby’s theory
Monotropic belief sets up mothers to take the blame for anything that goes wrong with the child
Gives an excuse to restrict the mother’s activities, like returning to work
