explanations of attachment: Bowlby's monotropic theory

Question 1

Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

Answer 1

• rejected learning theory as he emphasised survival and that attachment is innate (born with the ability to attach)

Question 2

monotropy

Answer 2

form one special attachment to one person (female) which is different and more important

Question 3

monotropy: law of continuity

Answer 3

more constant the care a better an attachment is

Question 4

monotropy: law of accumulated separation

Answer 4

separations from the mother add up and should be avoided

Question 5

social releasers

Answer 5

• cute behaviours that babies do to make adults pay attention & feel love towards them (required for attachment)

Question 6

critical period

Answer 6

• time an attachment must form
• if it isn’t formed by age 2 or most is about 1, they will find it harder to form an attachment later in life

Question 7

internal working model

Answer 7

• mental representation of attachment with primary caregiver
• provides a base for what relationships look like and what they should be like
• act as a template in adulthood for what relationship could look like

Question 8

AO3: mixed evidence of monotropy (weakness)

Answer 8

• Schaffer & Emerson = said babies attach to 1 person & minority were able to form multiple attachments at the same time
• unclear if there’s a uniqueness about the 1st attachment
• research shows that attachment to the mother is important to predict later behaviour
• may mean that the first attachment is stronger & not different in quality

Question 9

AO3: support for social releasers (strength)

Answer 9

• Brazelton et al (1975) = observed mothers and infants in social interactions , finding interactional synchrony
• extended the observations to experiments where the primary caregivers were instructed to ignore their babies signals
• found that babies showed distressed but initially laid there motionless
• the fact they responded so strongly supports idea that social releasers elicit a caregiving response

Question 10

AO3: support for internal working model (strength)

Answer 10

• Bailey et al = assessed 99 mothers with 1 year old babies on the quality of their attachments with their own mothers using a standard interview procedure
• assessed attachment of babies to their mother by observation
• found mothers with poor attachment to their primary attachment had poorly attached babies
• supports idea that babies ability to form an attachment is influenced by the internal model

Question 11

AO3: socially sensitive area (weakness)

Answer 11

• intention was to emphasise importance of the mother’s role & boost their status
• idea of monotropy is controversial as implications for the choices made by the mother when the child is young

Question 12

AO3: temperament may be important as attachment (weakness)

Answer 12

• a child’s temperament may influence their social behaviour & not early experiences of attachment
• some are more anxious and others are more sociable due to their genetic makeup
• this may also be the cause of later social behaviours