bowlby's theory of attachement Flashcards
what did Bowlby reject and why ?
- the learning theory as an explanation for attachment
–> because ‘ if this were true an infant of a year or two would be willing to feed from anyone which is often not the case’
what work did Bowlby look at instead ?
- at the work of Lorenz and Harlow for ideas
what did Bowlby propose instead ?
- an evolutionary explanation for attachment
Bowlby’s theory of attachment is an evolutionary theory of attachment ( explain why this is )
- attachement is an innate system
–> gives a survival damage
–> imprinting and attachment evolved to make sure infant stay close to their caregivers and this protects them from hazards
what are the elements to the theory of Bowlby’s ?
- monotropy
- social releasers
- critical period
- internal working model
define monotropy
- a term is sometimes used to describe Bowlby’s theory
- the mono means ‘one’ and indicates one particular attachment is different from all others and of central importance to the child’s development
what is meant by monotropy ?
- Bowlby’s theory is described as monotropic
–> placed emphasis on attachment to 1 particular caregiver
–> ‘mother’
–> the attachment is different and more important
–> the more time spent with the primary care-giver the better
what are the 2 principles Bowlby put forward ?
- the law of continuity stated that more constant and predictable a child’s care , the better the quality of attachment
- the law of accumulated separation stated that the effects of every separation from the mother add up ‘and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose’
what did Bowlby suggest babies are born with ?
a set of innate cute behaviours both physical and behavioural
- such as smiling , cooing and gripping
what is the term referred as for the behaviours ?
- called social releasers and encourage attention from adults
what is the purpose of social releasers ?
- to activate the adult attachement system
–> e.g. make an adult feel love towards the baby
what did Bowbly recognise attachement as ?
an reciprocal process
what do both the baby and mother have ?
- the innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger that response in caregivers
what does the interplay between ‘mother’ and ‘infant’ form ?
- gradually builds the relationship between caregiver and infant within the early weeks of life
what did Bowlby proposed about the period of attachment ?
- proposed there is a critical period around 2 years when the infant attachment system is active
define critical period
- refers to the time within which an attachement must form if it is to form at all
- Lorenz and Harlow noted that attachment in birds and monkeys had critical periods
- Bowlby extended the idea to humans , proposing that human infants have a sensitive period after which it will be much more difficult to form an attachment
what did Bowlby viewed the critical period more of as and why ?
- a sensitive period
–> child is maximally sensitive at the age of 2
what happens if a child doesn’t form an attachment within this time ?
- a child will find it much harder to form one later