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
