Explanations of attachment - bowlby Flashcards
Why did bowlby reject the learning theory?
Because if the learning theory were true ‘ an infant should take readily yo whomever feeds him but this is not the case.
What is the basis of bowlbys theory?
Evolutionary explanation , attachment was innate and a survival advantage
Why is Bowlbys theory descibed as Monotropic ?
Because he placed great emphasis on a childs attachment to one particular caregiver and believed this one particular attachment is different and more important than others.
Bowlby believed the more time spent with a baby the better.
What were Bowlby’s two principles
The Law of continuity : The more constatnt and predictable a childs care , the better the quality of attachment.
The Law of accumulated separation : The effects of every separation from the mother adds up and the safest dose is zero’
What are social releasers ?
A set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours that encourage attention from adults
eg . smiling , cooing, gripping.
What is the purpose of social releasers
Is to activate the adult attachment system.
Attachment is a reciprocal process.
What is a critical period
The time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all.
What did bowlby say about the critical period
There is a critical period of around 2 years , if an attachment is not fomred, a child will find it hard to form an attachment later on.
Internal Working Model
The mental representation we carry of our attachment to our primary caregiver.
- A child froms a representation of their realtionship with their primary care giver
What affect can IWM have on a child
-If the first experience is loving with a reliable caregiver ; an expectation will form that all relationships are loving and reliable.They willl bring these qualities to future relationships.
- if the first experience involves poor treatment; then they will expect the same treatment from others and form poor relationships
How does IWM affect parenting?
People tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experience of being parented.This explains why children from functional families are similar to their own.
