Bowlby's theory of attachment Flashcards
what is ASCMI?
Adoptive social release critical period monotropy internal working model
what is attachment according to Bowlby?
an innate system for survival
what is monotropy?
where the infant attaches to only one primary caregiver
what is the law of continuity and the law of accumulated separation?
- law of continuity is the more constant a child’s caries, the better the attachment is
- law of accumulated separation is where the effect of every separation adds up
what are social releases?
when baby gurgles or looks cute to activate the adult attachment system
what is the critical period?
there a period system of 2 years where the attachment system is active in the infant
what is the internal working model?
a template where the first relationship with their caregiver reflects how they will be as parents
negative evaluation:
evidence for monotropy is mixed
- Shaffer and Emerson (64) found most babies did attach to one person at first, but a large minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
- contradicts Bowlby’s assertion that babies attach to one significant person its unique
- attachment to mothers instead of fathers better predicts later behavior because the mother is primary attachment figure
positive evaluation:
evidence to support the existence and value of social releases
- brazelton (75) instructed primary attachment figures to ignore babies social releases
- babies showed distress and eventually, some curled up and lay motionless
- supports Bowlby’s idea of the significance of social releases in initiating social interaction
positive evaluation:
research support for the idea of an internal working model
- the idea of IWM predicts patterns of attachment through the generations
- Bailey (2007) studied 99 mothers, those with bad attachment to own parents most likely to have poorly attached 12-year-olds
- supports Bowlby’s idea of IWM - that is passed through families
