Bowlbys monotropic theory of attachment Flashcards
what does it mean if humans are innate?
a tendency to form attachments with a caregiver which we are born with which gives us an adaptive advantage.
what is monotropy?
‘mono’ means one, and indicates that one particular attachment is different form all others, and of central importance to the child’s development.
what is an internal working model?
the mental representation we all carry with us of our attachment to our primary caregiver.
why are internal working models important?
they are important inn affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception on what relationships are like.
what is the critical period?
this refers to the time within which an attachment must form if it is to for at all.
Lorenz and Harlow noted that?
attachment in birds and monkeys had critical periods. Bowlby had extended this idea towards humans, proposing that humans have a sensitive period after which it will be more difficult to form an attachment.
what does ASCMI stand for
adaptive, social releasers, critical period, monotropy, internal working model.
what does it mean if attachments are adaptive?
this means they give our specioes 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.
what are social releasers?
babies have ‘social releasers’ which unlock the innate tendency of adults to care for them. These releasers are both physical (baby face) and behavioural (crying)
at what age does an attachment have to form between the critical period?
between birth and 2 and a half years old. and if it doesn’t the child can be damaged emotionally, intellectually and physically.
what is the continuity hypothesis?
the IWM suggests a continuity between early emotional experiences and later emotional behaviour. This hypothesis suggests a link where securely attached infants develop into socially and emotionally competent adults, and insecurely attached children develop social and emotional difficulties in adulthood.
one strength of Bowlbys theory (Lorenz)
the research by Lorenz supports the idea that imprinting is innate as the goslings imprinted on the first moving object they saw. It is likely that a similar process occurs in humans as a mechanism to enhance chances of survival.
counterpoint to Lorenz?
however, goslings are precotial animals and are mobile soon after birth. This means that it would be hard to generalise to humans as we are mammals and do not start walking until the age of a toddler.
support for the sensitive period?
Hodges and Tizard (1989) followed 65 British children. the children were placed in an institution before 4 months old and assessed till the age of 16. the restored childen (went back to their own families) were less likely to have formed attachments to mothers and the adopted were similar in attachment to normal children. But they were more likely to be bullies and attention seekers.
support for social releasers?
Brazelton et al (1975) asked mothers to ignore their babies signals, they initially showed some signs of distress, but when continually ignored, some curled up and lay motionless. This supports the idea of their importance in eliciting caregiving.
Tronick et al (1992)
studied an African tribe, the Efe in Zaire, the children are looked after and even breastfed by different women, but at night stay with their mothers. At six months they still show only one primary attachment which supports the idea that attachment and caregiving are universal and not influenced by different cultural practice.
Schaffer and Emerson (primary attachment figures)
found that children form more than one attachment, they do still maintain one primary object of attachment, which was usually the mother. This attachment was usually towards the most sensitive caregiver as opposed to the one who fed and bathed the child.
Schaffer and Emerson (caregiver sensitivity)
found that strongly attached infants had responsive mothers and weakly attached infants had mothers who failed to interact sensitively. Harlows monkeys failed to form normally as a result of a one-way attachment to an unresponsive wire mother.
Carlson (1998)
also found insensitive parenting to be associated with disorganised attachment and psychological problems in adulthood.
Sroufe et al (2005)
a longitudinal study. sroufe followed ps from infancy through to late adolescence. Those who were classified as secure in infancy rated highest for social competence, more popular, more empathetic, and less isolated, supporting the idea that early attachments continue on to more psychologically well-adjusted behaviours later in life.
Hazan and Shaver (1987)
he also found a strong-relationship between early attachment type and adulthood attachment type in their ‘Love Quiz’ survey.
support for IWM
Bailey et al (2007) tested this by assessing 99 mothers with 1 year old babies on the quality of attachment to their own mothers, using a standard interview procedure, and the attachment of their own babies to the mothers, through observation.
what did Bailey et al (2007) find?
they found that the mothers who reported poor attachment to their own parents in the interviews, were more likely to have children classified as poorly attached, according to observations, this supports the idea of IWM passing through families.
mixed evidence for monotropy?
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that most babies did attach to one person first, but a significant minority were able to form attachments at the same time. Their longitudinal study of 6p0 babies found that by 2 months, 29 had multiple attachments, at 10 moths 59% and at 18 months 87%
what is Bowlby criticised for?
for not recognising the importance of attachments with fathers and siblings.
Studies looking at attachments in mothers and fathers, suggest that attachment to the mother is more important in predicting later behaviour (Seuss et al 1992) but this could just mean the attachment is stroger not better quality.
alternative explanations
It may be that a childs temperament shapes the mothers responsiveness and the adult relationships.
an example of an alternative explanation?
Kagan (1987) temperament hypothesis suggests that children are born with an innate temperamental differences which affect the way people respond to them.
one major strength of bowlbys theory?
his theories were highly influential as hospitals changed their practices where mothers and children were encouraged to stay together rather than be forced part.
