⭐️ explanations; bowlby's monotropic theory✅ Flashcards
what is the main idea behind bowlby’s mono-tropic theory?
one attachment is more significant then others, attachment is innate, gives a survival advantage
what does monotropic mean?
whats significant about this attachment?
emphasis on a Childs attachment to one primary CG.
its different and more important then any other
what did bowlby say about the more time a baby spends with the primary caregiver?
what were the two main reasons for this?
the more time they spent together the better
1- law of continuity
2- law of accumulated seperation
what is the law of continuity?
what is the law of accumulated separation?
the more constant the Childs care, the better quality of attachment
the effects of every separation adds up
what did Bowlby say about social releasers?
what is the purpose of these social releasers?
babies are born with a set of innate social releaser such as smiling, gripping that gain attention of adults
it activates the adult attachment system (reciprocal system)
what is the critical period?
what did he say if an attachment isn’t formed in this time?
the period of the first 2 years of the babies life why were their attachment system is most active
its harder to form one later on in life
what is the internal working model?
what did he say abut those with good first attachments and bad?
bowlby argued a child forms a mental representation of their attachment with their primary attachment figure. this serves as a template for future relationships.
if baby has good, loving first attachment then their future relationships are going to be similar
if the first attachment is bad then further attachments are more likely to be too.
AO3:
✅ 2 strengths
✅ clear evidence by brazleton to support the existence and value of social releasers. he instructed primary attachment figures to ignore their babies social releasers. some babies just lay motionless, some showed distress. this shows the significance of infant social behaviour eliciting caregiving from adults
✅ evidence by Bailey et al to support the internal working model, studied moms, those with poor attach. to their own parents were more likely to have poorly attached one year olds. this supports the IWM as it passes down through families
AO3:
❌ 2 weaknesses
❌ monotropy is socially sensitive bc it has implications for mothers’ lifestyles. bowlby’s intention was to boost the status of women however feminists believe the law of accumulated seperation blames women for anything that goes wrong in the Childs life
❌bowlby may have overemphasised the role of attachment, alt. exp. suggest a Childs temperament (genetically influenced personality) is important for the development of social behaviour. so temperamental differences can explain later social behaviour as opposed to the quality of attachment
