Bowlby's theory of attachment

Question 1

What perspective does Bowlby’s theory take

Answer 1

A strongly evolutionary one

Question 2

What key concept does Bowby introduce to the evolutionary approach

Answer 2

The environment of evolutionary adaptiveness. This is the environment that a species adapted to survive in and the select pressures that environment creates

Question 3

What is the the human environment of evolutionary adaptiveness and how did this influence attachment

Answer 3

Moving out of the jungle into the savanna 2 million years ago, which Bowlby argues had a strong evolutionary pressure for close attachment between infant and mother, as an infant would have been in danger when not with an adult

Question 4

Why have we evolved attachment

Answer 4

It serces an important evolutionary function in protecting the infant, as an unattached infant is unprotected

Question 5

What are the six key terms involved in Bowlby’s theory

Answer 5

Adaptive and innate tendencies
Critical Period
Monotropy
Internal Working Model
Continuity Hypothesis
Social Releasers

Question 6

What direction does attachment go

Answer 6

Both ways, as the parents must also be attached to the child in order to ensure they are cared for and protected

Question 7

Who’s less likely to pass their genes to their offspring

Answer 7

Inadequately attached parents who don’t protect their kids

Question 8

Why does an infant become attached

Answer 8

Due to an innate drive, taking inspiration from Lorenz imprinting

Question 9

When does a child become attached

Answer 9

Over the critical period

Question 10

When is the critical period

Answer 10

Around 3 - 6 months

Question 11

What happens to a child who doens’t form an attachment over the critical period

Answer 11

They struggle to form attachments later on

Question 12

What is the most important factor in determining who the child will become attached to

Answer 12

Caregiver Sensitivity, taking inspiration from Mary Ainsworth

Question 13

What are social releasers

Answer 13

Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony

Question 14

Why do infants use social releasers

Answer 14

They ensure an adult becomes attached to the child, an innate mechanism to manipulate adults to look after them

Question 15

What is monotropy

Answer 15

Where the child forms one special emotional bond, usually with the mother but not necessarily

Question 16

What is the importance of a monotropic relationship

Answer 16

It forms a mental representation of the relationship called the internal working model. The child develops a sense of self from their relationship with their mothers, and in the long term acts as a template for all future relationships

Question 17

What does the internal working model allow an infant to do

Answer 17

It gives them insight into the caregivers behaviour and enables the child to manipulte the caregiver, and acts as template for future relationships

Question 18

What is the continuity hypothesis

Answer 18

A theory which proposes that individuals relationships with their caregiver carry over to the rest of their life. Those that are strongly attached continue to be socially and emotionally competent while those who aren’t have social and emotional difficulties

Question 19

What is an issue with the idea that attachment developed as critical to survival

Answer 19

Bowlby suggests attachments form during the critical period from 3-6 months. This is very late as a mechanism to protect infants. However it could be that attachment is only necessay when infants start crawling, as before this the child is immobile. This supports the view that attachment is adaptive to species and environment

Question 20

What is an issue with the critical period

Answer 20

It suggests that attchments cannot be formed outside the critical period. Rutter studied children who failed to form attachments in the critical period, and found that attachments were less likely to form but not impossible. This is just a window where children are most receptive to forming attachments, therefore sensitvie period may be more appropriate than critical period

Question 21

What is research support for the continuity hypothesis

Answer 21

The Minnesota parent-child study found continuity. Those securely attached were rated highest for social competence in childhood. This is deterministic, and can be demotivating to struggling individuals.

Question 22

What is an alternative explination for attachment behaviour

Answer 22

The temperament hypothesis, developed by Kagan, suggest some babies are assholes and so it’s difficult to attach to them. Supported by Belsky and Rovine, who found infants with behaviour instability between one to three days were more likely to have insecure attachments.

Question 23

What might be a better explination for the temperament hypothesis and Bowlby’s theory

Answer 23

A interactionist approach, as Belsky and Rovine found mothers perceptions of the infants temperament influenced their levels of sensitivity and responsiveness. The two could be linked

Question 24

Who suggested the temperament hypothesis

Answer 24

Kagan

Question 25

Who found support for the temperament hypothesis

Answer 25

Belsky and Rovine

Question 26

Who found evidence of the continuity hypothesis

Answer 26

The Minnesota parent-child study