EXPLANATION OF ATTACHMENT - BOWLBY'S THEORY Flashcards
what is Bowlby’s theory?
monotropic theory
how did Bowlby describe attachment?
as being an innate system that gives a survival advantage
what does monotropic mean?
primary attachment figure
what did Bowlby believe mattered the most in attachment?
the time spent with the child
what 2 laws did Bowlby come up with?
law of continuity - more constant care, better attachment
law of accumulated separation - effects of separation add up
social releasers are..
innate cute behaviours that babies are born with that activate the human attachment system
the critical period according the Bowlby is…
2 years, meaning if they haven’t made an attachment by then it will be harder to form an attachment in the future
the first attachment forms an…
internal working model of relationships
what is the internal working model?
mental representation that acts as a template for future relationships and can affect the child’s ability to parent themselves
what elements of Bowlby’s theory is there support for?
social releasers and the internal working model
who found evidence for social releasers?
Brazleton et al
what evidence did Brazleton find for social releasers?
parents ignore social releasers
babies showed distress and eventually curled up and was motionless
what does Brazleton’s research show?
that infants social releasers are key for eliciting caregiving from adults and initiating social interaction
who found research to support the internal working model?
Bailey et al
what did Bailey et al find?
studied 99 mothers, those with poor internal working model more likely to have children poorly attached
what does Bailey’s research show about internal working model?
can be passed down generations
what can monotropy be seen as?
socially sensitive
how is monotropy socially sensitive?
law of accumulated separation puts working mothers at a disadvantage
how does feminist Burnam support that monotropy is socially sensitive?
says mothers are blamed for anything that goes wrong in the child’s life
what was Bowlby’s research supposed to be instead of socially sensitive?
supposed to boost the status of mothers by emphasising their importance
what can be a different explanation for attachment?
a child’s temperament can be important in attachment
how does temperament influence attachment?
some babies are more anxious than other due to their genetics
how does temperament criticise learning theory?
temperamental differences rather than quality of attachment can explain future social behaviour
