Explanation of attachment: Bowlby's theory

Question 1

What is monotropic?

Answer 1

To describe Bowlby’s theory. Mono means one and tropic means learning towards. one particular attachment is different from all others and central importance to a Childs development.

Question 2

What is critical period?

Answer 2

• The time within which an attachment must form if it’s to form at all Lorenz and Harlow noticed that birds and monkeys have critical periods if the attachment is not formed in that period it’s difficult to form an attachment.

Question 3

What is internal working model?

Answer 3

Mental representations of the world example the representation we have of our relationship to our primary attachment figure this model fix our future relationships because it carries our perception of what relationships are like.

Question 4

Explain monotropy?

Answer 4

Bobby’s theory is mono Tropic because he put great emphasis on a child’s attachment to one particular caregiver.
- He said the attachment to the caregiver is different and more important than others but it did not need to be the biological mother .
- More time a baby spent with the primary attachment figure the better
- this was by two laws, the law of continuity stated the more constant and predictable a childcare the better quality of their attachment, and the law of accumulated separation stated that affects of every separation from the mother adopt and the safe it is therefore a zero dose.

Question 5

Explain social releases and the critical period?

Answer 5

Bowlby suggested that a babies are born with a set of cute behaviours like smiling queueing and gripping and encourages the attention from adults.
- He called these social releases because the purpose is to activate an adult interaction and make an adult attached to the baby both the baby and mother are hardwired to each other.
- The attachment begins between the early weeks of life and be proposed that there’s a critical period around six months when the infant attachment system is active be viewed this as a sensitive period a child is a maximally sensitive at six months and goes up to the age of two.

Question 6

Explain the internal working model?

Answer 6

• Child forms a mental representation of the relationship with their primary attachment figure this is called an internal working model because it builds a model for what relationships are like.If A child’s first experience is loving relationship It forms an expectation that all relationships are loving and reliable and will bring these qualities to future relationships.
• However some child that receives poor treatment tends to form further poor relationships in the future.
• People also base their parenting behaviours on how they were parented.

Question 7

Evaluate one limitation of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 7

The concept of monotropy lacks validity schaffer and Emerson found that babies do not attach to one person at first a significant minority formed multiple attachment at the same time. The first attachment is particularly strong influence on later behaviour means it’s stronger. It Doesn’t mean it’s necessarily different in quality. This means that bowlby be may be incorrect that there’s a unique quality of importance to a child’s primary attachment.

Question 8

Evaluate one strength of bowlby’s theory?

Answer 8

• Supports the role of social releases there is evidence that cute baby behaviours are designed to elicit interactions from caregivers.
• Brazlelton observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releases.
• Brazelton made primary attachment figures to ignore the babies. Social releases the babies then became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up and laid motionless this illustrates the world of social releasers.

Question 9

Evaluate a further strength of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 9

• the idea of internal working model predicts the patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next
• Bailey assessed 99 mothers and their one year-old babies. The research is measured the mother’s attachment to their own primary attachment figures
• mothers with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures would likely to have poor attached babies. This supports Bowlby’s idea that mother’s ability to form attachment is influence by the internal working models.