Bowlbys Monotropy Theory

Question 1

What did Bowlby suggest about attachment?

Answer 1

Bowlby rejected the learning theory of attachment and instead focused on the work of animal studies and proposed an evolutionary explanation whereby attachment is an innate system that supports survival

Question 2

What is the acronym for this topic?

Answer 2

Bowlby is magic!!
Monotropic bond
Adaptive attachment
Good quality care
Internal working model
Critical period

Question 3

What did Bowlby mean by a monotropic attachment?

Answer 3

Balby said attachment was monotropic because he placed emphasis on a child’s attachment to one particular caregiver and said this relationship was more important than any others.
Bowlby labelled this person as the mother however research is shown that this was not always a biological mother or a woman.

Question 4

What were the 2 principles proposed by Bowlby that supported the idea that the more time a baby spent with a primary attachment figure the better?

Answer 4

The law of continuity: the more constant and predictable a child’s care the better quality of attachment.
The law of accumulated separation: the effect of every separation from the mother add up and therefore the safest dose of separation is zero.

Question 5

What did Balby suggest about social releases and the critical period?

Answer 5

Bowlby suggested that babies are born with innate behaviours such as smiling or gripping encourage attention from adults. These are known as social releases as their purposes to activate adult social interaction with the baby.
Bowlby proposed that there was a critical period around six months when the attachment system in infants is active. Bowlby actually viewed this as a sensitive period which potentially extends up to the age of two,
if an attachment is not formed in this time then the child will find it much harder to form one later

Question 6

What did Bowlby say about the internal working model?

Answer 6

Bowlby proposed that the internal working model create a mental representation of relationships in a child which serves as a model representation of what relationships should be like.

For example, a child who has a loving relationship with a primary attachment figure will form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable as this. However a child whose first relationship involves poor treatment or to form poor relationships due to what they expect from others or treat others in the same way.

Lastly, the internal working model affect parenting. Parents tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of parenting.