Explanations of attachment: Bowlby’s theory

Question 1

What type of explanation of attachment did Bowlby propose?

Answer 1

An evolutionary explanation, based on work from animal studies

Question 2

What is the evolutionary explanation?

Answer 2

• attachment is innate and gives a survival advantage to keep young animals safe

Question 3

What is monotropy?

Answer 3

• The idea that attachment to one particular caregiver is different and is more important than the others

Question 4

What two laws did Bowlby create to emphasis this idea?

Answer 4

• Law of continuity
• Law of accumulated separation

Question 5

What does the law of continuity state?

Answer 5

• That the more constant and predictable a child’s care, the better quality of attachment

Question 6

What does the law of accumulated separation state?

Answer 6

• Every separation from mother adds up the effects
  ‘safest dose is a zero dose’ Bowlby

Question 7

What are babies born with?

Answer 7

• social releasers > a set of innate cute behaviours

Question 8

Name three examples of social releasers

Answer 8

gripping, cooing, smiling

Question 8

What is the purpose of social releasers?

Answer 8

• Encourage attention from adults and make adult feel love towards infant

Question 9

Around what age is the infant attachment system active?

Answer 9

around 6 months

Question 10

What age is the sensitive period?

Answer 10

6months to 2.5 years

Question 11

What happens if an attachment is not formed within the sensitive period?

Answer 11

• Becomes harder to form an attachment later

Question 12

What is the internal working model (IWM) ?

Answer 12

• Mental representations of a child’s attachment with their primary attachment figure, which serves as a template of what future relationships will be like

Question 13

What would you expect if you had a loving, reliable caregiver?

Answer 13

• Expect all relationships to be like this and will bring qualities to future relationships

Question 14

What would you expect if you had poor treatment from caregiver?

Answer 14

• poor relationships, behaviours and expectations

Question 15

How does the IWM affect a child in the future?

Answer 15

• affects child’s later ability to be a parent themselves

Question 16

What research support is there for the IWM?

Answer 16

• Bailey et al measured 99 mothers and their attachment to their own PAF and the attachment quality of their 1 year old babies
• he found that mothers with poor attachments to own PAF were more likely to have poorly attached babies.
• Suggest ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by the IWM

Question 17

What is a limitation of the Bowlbys montropy theory?

Answer 17

• issues with validity
• Schaffer & Emerson found that although most babies still attached to one person at first, significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
• suggest girst attachment appears to have strong influence but this could just mean it is stronger rather than different in quality

Question 18

Who supports idea of social releasers?

Answer 18

Brazelton et al

Question 19

What did Brazelton et al observe?

Answer 19

• babies triggering interactions with adults using social releasers and researchers instructed babies PAF to ignore babies social releasers

Question 20

What did Brazelton et al find?

Answer 20

• previously responsive babies became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up & lay motionless