Explanations of attachment: Bowlby’s theory Flashcards
What type of explanation of attachment did Bowlby propose?
An evolutionary explanation, based on work from animal studies
What is the evolutionary explanation?
attachment is innate and gives a survival advantage to keep young animals safe
What is monotropy?
The idea that attachment to one particular caregiver is different and is more important than the others
What two laws did Bowlby create to emphasis this idea?
Law of continuity
Law of accumulated separation
What does the law of continuity state?
That the more constant and predictable a child’s care, the better quality of attachment
What does the law of accumulated separation state?
Every separation from mother adds up the effects
‘safest dose is a zero dose’ Bowlby
What are babies born with?
social releasers-a set of innate cute behaviours
Name three examples of social releasers
gripping, cooing, smiling
What is the purpose of social releasers?
Encourage attention from adults and make adult feel love towards infant
Around what age is the infant attachment system active?
around 6 months
What age is the sensitive period?
6months to 2.5 years
What happens if an attachment is not formed within this period?
Becomes harder to form an attachment later
What is the internal working model (IWM) ?
Mental representations of a child’s attachment with their primary attachment figure, which serves as a template of what future relationships will be like
What would you expect if you had a loving, reliable caregiver?
Expect all relationships to be like this and will bring qualities to future relationships
what would you expect if you had poor treatment from caregiver?
poor relationships, behaviours and expectations