Explanations: Bowlby's Theory

Question 1

Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory

Monotropy

Answer 1

• Placed get emphasis on attachment to one particular caregiver.
• Bowlby believed the more time the baby spent with their mother-figure, the better.
• He put forward two principles to clarify this:
• Law of continuity: quality attachment is associated with constant and predictable child care.
• Law of accumulated separation: the effects of every separation from a caregiver add up (‘the safest dose is therefore zero’).

Question 2

Bowlby’s Monotopic Theory

Social Releasers

Answer 2

• Bowlby suggested that babies have inate ‘cute’ behaviours (e.g. smiling, cooing) to encourage the attention of adults.
• He called these social releasers because their purpose is to activate adult social interaction and make an adult attach to the baby.
• He recognised that attachment was a reciprocal process.
• Both mother and baby are hard-wired to become attached.

Question 3

Bowlby’s Monotopic Theory

Critical Period

(Sensitive Period)

Answer 3

• Interplay between baby and adult attachment systems gradually builds their relationship.
• Bowlby proposed there is a critical period around 6 months when the infant attachment system is still active.
• In fact, Bowlby viewed this as more of a sensitive period.
• A child is maximally sensitive at siz months and this possibly extends to the age of two.
• If an attachment is not formed at this time, it becomes more difficult - but not impossible - to form one later.

Question 4

Bowlby’s Monotopic Theory

Internal Working Model

Answer 4

• Bowlby proposed the internal working model (IWM) as a model for what relationships are like.
• A child who experienced loving relationships with a reliable caregiver will tend to form the expectation of loving and reliable relationships in adulthood.
• However, a child who’s first relationship involves poor treatment will tend to expect others to treat them - or they may treat others - that way.
• Most importantly, people tend to base their parenting on their own experiences of being parented.
• This explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves.

Question 5

Bowlby’s Monotopic Theory: Evaluation

Validity of Monotropy Challenged

Limitation

Answer 5

• The concept of monotropy lacks validity.
• Schaffer and Emerson found that although most babies did attach to one person at first, a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time.
• Also, although the first attachment appears to have a strong influence on later behaviour, it may only be that it is the strongest, rather than being the only influence.

This means that Bowlby may be incorrect that there is a unique quality and importance to a child’s first attachment.

Question 6

Bowlby’s Monotopic Theory: Evaluation

Support for Social Releasers

Strength

Answer 6

• There is evidence supporting the role of social releasers.
• There is clear evidence that cute baby behaviours are designed to elicit interaction from caregivers.
• Brazelton observed babies interacting with adults using social releasers.
• Researchers instructed the baby’s primary attachment figure to ignore their baby’s social releasers.
• Babies became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up and remained motionless.

This illustrates the role of social releasers in emotional development and suggests they are important in the process of attachment development.

Question 7

Bowlby’s Monotopic Theory: Evaluation

Support for IWM

Strength

Answer 7

• There is support for the idea that IWM predicts patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next.
• Bailey (2007) assessed attachment relationships of 99 mothers and their one-year-old children.
• Researchers also measured mother’s attachment to their own primary attachment figures.
• They found that mothers with poor attachment to their primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies.

This supports Bowlby’s idea that mother’s ability to parent their children is influenced by their internal working models.

Question 8

Bowlby’s Monotopic Theory: Evaluation

Counterpoint

Support for IWM

Answer 8

• There are probably other important influences on social development.
• Some psychologists believe that genetic differences in anxiety or sociability affect both babies and adults.
• These differences could also impact on their parenting ability.

This means that Bowlby may have overstated the importance of the IWM in social behaviour and parenting at the expense of other factors.