Bowlby's Monotropic Theory of Attachment

Question 1

What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (put simply)

Answer 1

Attachment is innate and provides a survival advantage.

Question 2

What does monotropy suggest

Answer 2

The child will attach to one primary attachment figure (usually mother) and this attachment is different and more important than others.

Question 3

What are social releasers

Answer 3

Innate behaviours (e.g. crying, smiling) that elicit adult responses (e.g. caring).

Question 4

What is meant by the critical period

Answer 4

The period after birth in which babies are best adapted to form attachments.

Question 5

What is the internal working model

Answer 5

The mental representation of the child’s first attachment.

Question 6

What is evolution

Answer 6

the process whereby USEFUL FEATURES are introduced into a species.

Question 7

What makes features useful

Answer 7

if they help the animal SURVIVE long enough to successfully REPRODUCE.

Question 8

What do animals need to be to survive and reproduce

Answer 8

WELL ADAPTED to their environment.

Question 9

What are useful features that help animals to survive and reproduce called

Answer 9

ADAPTIVE features / adaptations

Question 10

Give example of an adaptive feature in infants

Answer 10

Social releasers

Question 11

What is Bowlby’s theory of attachment

Answer 11

human infants have an innate tendency to form attachments to their primary care giver, most often their mother.

Question 12

What did Bowlby believe about an infants time spent with their primary attachment figure

Answer 12

the more time a baby spent with this primary attachment figure / mother-figure (not necessarily the biological mother) the better.

Question 13

What are the different parts of Bowlby’s theory of attachment

Answer 13

Adaptive, Social Releasers, Critical Period, Monotropy, Internal working model (ASCMI)

Question 14

Why did Bowlby suggest our attachments are adaptive

Answer 14

They give our species an ‘adaptive advantage’, making us more likely to survive.
This is because if an infant has an attachment to a caregiver, they are kept safe, given food, and kept warm.

Question 15

What is the role of social releasers in Bowlby’s theory of attachment

Answer 15

Infants social releasers ‘unlock’ the innate tendency of adults to care for them.

Question 16

What are the two types of social releasers

Answer 16

Physical – the typical ‘baby face’ features and body proportions
Behavioural – e.g. crying, cooing

Question 17

What is role of the critical period in forming an attachment

Answer 17

Babies have to form the attachment with their caregiver during a critical period.

Question 18

What is the critical period for human babies to form an attachment

Answer 18

6 months

Question 19

When is the sensitive period in human infants

Answer 19

between birth and 2½ years old.

Question 20

What is the sensitive period

Answer 20

A period whereby an attachment can still form but it takes longer and increased effort from the caregivers

Question 21

What did Bowlby suggest would happen if an infant didn’t form an attachment within the critical and sensitive period

Answer 21

the child would be damaged for life – socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically

Question 22

What did Bowlby suggest the infant could do if the mother isn’t available to form an attachment to

Answer 22

Bond with another ever-present, adult, mother-substitute.

Question 23

What is the law of continuity

Answer 23

the more constant and predictable the care the better the quality of attachment.

Question 24

What is the law of accumulated separation

Answer 24

every separation has a cumulative effect, the maximum safe dose is ZERO.

Question 25

What did Bowlby suggest is formed via the infants monotropic attachment and what effect does this have

Answer 25

An internal working model - a special model for relationships. Therefore, the child's future relationships will be based on their relationship with their monotropic attachment figure

Question 26

Evaluate Bowlby's monotropic theory of attachment based on supporting evidence for social releasers (strength)

Answer 26

One strength is evidence supporting the role of social releasers. Brazelton et al. (1975) instructed primary attachment figures to ignore their babies' social releasers. Babies (who were previously shown to be normally responsive) initially showed some distress, but eventually some curled up and lay motionless. This supports the idea that social releasers play an important role in attachment development.

Question 27

Evaluate Bowlby's monotropic theory of attachment based on supporting evidence for the internal working model (strength)

Answer 27

Another strength is support for the idea of the internal working model. The idea of the internal working model predicts that patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next. Bailey et al. (2007) studied 99 mothers. Those with poor attachment to their own parents were more likely to have one-year-olds who were poorly attached. This supports Bowlby’s idea of an internal working model of attachment as it is being passed through families

Question 28

Evaluate Bowlby's monotropic theory of attachment based on the validity of the concept of monotropy (weakness)

Answer 28

One limitation is that the concept of monotropy lacks validity. The relationship with the primary attachment figure may simply be stronger than other attachments, rather than different in quality, as Bowlby believed. Other family members may well develop attachments with the baby that have the same qualities, such as comfort and a secure base from which to explore. This means that Bowlby may have been wrong to suggest that there is a unique quality to a child’s primary attachment

Question 29

Evaluate Bowlby's theory of monotropic attachment based on social sensitivity (weakness) (further A* point, not required)

Answer 29

As Burman argues from a feminist perspective, Bowlby’s ideas can be used to blame mothers and restrict their activities – such as returning to work when they want to. Researchers need to be very careful about promoting an idea that is likely to have negative social consequences such as the oppression of women.