Explanations of Attachment - Bowlby's Monotropic Theory

Question 1

what did John Bowlby (1969) proposed

Answer 1

John Bowlby (1969) proposed that attachment behaviour evolved because it serves an important survival function.

Question 2

what did Bowlby propose
evolution

Answer 2

Bowlby argued that an infant who is not attached is less well protected.
Our distant infant ancestors would have been in danger if they did not remain close to an adult.
Because humans are altricial they need to form attachment bonds with adults who will protect and nurture them.

Question 3

what is it thought that an infant is born with

Answer 3

It is thought that infants are born with an innate drive to form an attachment that enhances their chances of survival i.e. through evolution, infants became genetically programmed to behave towards their mothers in ways that increased survival.

Question 4

what type of behaviour is attachment considered as

Answer 4

Attachment is therefore considered to be an adaptive behaviour, which means that it is thought to contribute to an individual’s reproductive success.

Question 5

2. Infants elicit caregiving, that is, there are specific behaviours that they adopt in order to promote attachment.

Answer 5

These behaviours are referred to as social releasers, which infants are supposedly born with

Question 6

what are three examples of social releases

Answer 6

Crying: to attract caregiver’s attention
Looking, smiling and vocalising: to maintain parental attention & interest
Following and clinging: to gain and maintain proximity to caregiver

Question 7

why do the innate social behaviours elicit caregiving

Answer 7

These innate social behaviours elicit caregiving by encouraging adult interaction, in that they attract the caregiver’s attention, maintain interest and maintain proximity e.g. the mother disappears, social releasers are activated to restore proximity.

Question 8

Infants form ONE special relationship (monotropy)

Answer 8

Infants become most strongly attached to the person who responds most sensitively to their social releasers i.e. carers who respond in a meaningful way.
This person becomes the infant’s primary caregiver and plays a special role in the infant’s emotional development. This concept is called monotropy – focused on one person.
Bowlby argued that this is often the infant’s biological mother.

Question 9

what did Bowlby also say about attachments with other people

Answer 9

Although Bowlby acknowledged that infants could form attachments to other specific people, he saw these as secondary attachments.
For Bowlby, attachment was a hierarchy with the prime attachment at the top and secondary attachments of minor importance below.
However, research suggests that fathers can be attachment figures in their own right.

Question 10

Monotropy: Research Evidence
Tronick et al. (1992) studied the Efe tribe (in Zaire, Africa) who lived in extended family groups:

Answer 10

Infants and children are looked after by whoever is closest to hand. They are breastfed by different women, but usually sleep with their own mother.
By the age of 12 months, the infants still showed a preference for their biological mother - a single primary attachment had formed.

Question 11

:( Schaffer and Emerson (1964) – Glasgow Babies Study
Key findings:

Answer 11

Strongly attached infants had mothers who responded to their needs quickly, while weakly attached infants had mothers who responded less quickly.

Multiple attachments are the norm and of similar quality, which opposes Bowlby’s idea that attachments are a hierarchy of one prime attachment and other minor ones.
- Schaffer commented that there is nothing to suggest that mothering can’t be shared by several people.

Question 12

The attachment relationship is thought to be vital for long-term emotional development as it forms a template for future relationships. This is as a result of the internal working model. What does this cause in the short- term

Answer 12

In the short-term, it gives the child insight into the caregiver’s behaviour and enables the child to influence the caregiver’s behaviour, so that a true partnership can be formed.

Question 13

The attachment relationship is thought to be vital for long-term emotional development as it forms a template for future relationships. This is as a result of the internal working model. What does this cause in the long- term

Answer 13

In the long-term it generates expectations about what intimate, loving relationships are like, how to form them and how to maintain them.

Question 14

what is the internal working model

Answer 14

The internal working model is a schema (a mental representation/cognitive framework – a packet of information/cluster of concepts – acquired through experience) used to understand the world, self and others.

Question 15

what does the internal working model act as

Answer 15

The internal working model acts as a template for all future relationships (based on an infant’s primary attachment bond), helping the individual to form effective relationships with peers, romantic partners, their children, etc.

Question 16

It follows that we would expect securely attached infants to develop more secure social and emotional relationships in comparison to those who were insecurely attached (who have less positive internal working models).
This is called the continuity hypothesis

Answer 16

Infant’s primary attachmentThere is continuity between early attachment experiences and later relationships.
Individuals who are securely attached in infancy continue to be socially and emotionally competent in adulthood, whereas individuals who are insecurely attached have more social and emotional difficulties in childhood and adulthood. Emotionally secure children => emotionally secure adults

Question 17

what did Hazan and Shaver (1987) do

Answer 17

Hazan and Shaver published a ‘love quiz’ in an American Newspaper, collecting information from people about…
Their early attachment experiences
Their current romantic attitudes and experiences

Question 18

what did Hazan and Shaver (1987) find

Answer 18

They found a positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences.
They found a relationship between the conception of love and attachment type - this suggests that securely attached individuals had a positive internal working model.

Question 18

if you had a secure attachment in childhood what are the people romantic attitudes and experiences

Answer 18

Tended to have happy and lasting love relationships
Had certain beliefs (love is enduring) and reported certain experiences (e.g. mutual trust)
Were less likely to have been divorced

Question 19

if you had an insecure attachment in childhood what are the people romantic attitudes and experiences

Answer 19

Felt true love was rare; fell in and out of love easily
Found relationships less easy
Were more likely to be divorced

Question 20

what is the Minnesota Longitudinal Study

Answer 20

Sroufe et al. followed a cohort of children from the age of 12 months to adolescence; the children were rated throughout their childhood by teachers, trained observers and camp counsellors.

Question 21

what did the Minnesota Longitudinal Study find

Answer 21

Those children who were rated as being securely attached in infancy were also subsequently rated as being more popular, having more initiative and being higher in social competence, self-confidence and self-esteem.

Question 22

what did the Minnesota Longitudinal Study suggest

Answer 22

This research suggests that social competence was associated with early attachment style, supporting Bowlby’s views of continuityfrom infancy to adulthood in terms of social development.

Question 23

The Temperament Hypothesis
An alternative explanation

Answer 23

An infant’s innate emotional personality (‘temperament’) influences the quality of their attachments with caregivers & later relationships with adults

Question 24

how does infants temperament affect their attachment type

Answer 24

Infants who have an ‘easy’ temperament are more likely to become strongly attached because it is easier to interact with them whereas those who are ‘difficult’ tend to be insecurely attached.

Question 25

If attachment is innate and therefore biological, we would expect there to be a critical period for its development.

Answer 25

Bowlby believed there is a critical period for the formation of attachments.

Question 26

How long is the critical period

Answer 26

If a child does not form an attachment before the age of 2½ years, then Bowlby believed it would not be possible thereafter.

Question 27

how long is the sensitive period

Answer 27

However, later research has shown that the concept of a sensitive period may be more appropriate - development takes place most rapidly and easily during the critical period, but can still take place at other times i.e. up to 5 years old.

Question 28

what did Lorenz find about imprinting

Answer 28

Lorenz: the fact that imprinting was found to only occur within a brief, set time period in geese influenced Bowlby’s idea of a critical period in human babies. (NB. extrapolation issues)

Question 29

:(Bowlby’s theory is highly deterministic - poor attachment experiences do not always have a negative impact on psychological development and future relationships.

Answer 29

E: Bowlby cannot explain why some children cope with poor attachment experiences and develop into emotionally stable adults, whilst others suffer long-term consequences.
C: For example, his theory overlooks the role of other factors e.g. previous romantic relationships, temperament, life events, free will.

Question 30

what does SCAIMIC stand for

Answer 30

Social releasers - innate behaviours e.g. crying, smiling that elicit caregiving.

Critical period - 0-2½ years (for forming attachments).

Adaptive - attachment is crucial for survival and reproduction.

Innate – infants and caregivers are biologically programmed to form attachments.

Monotropy - infants form one main attachment (usually with the mother).

Internal working model - a schema that acts as a template for future relationships.

Continuity hypothesis - continuity between early attachment experiences and later relationships.