explanations of attachment - bowlbys theory Flashcards
bowlbys mono tropic theory
rejected learning theory as an explanation for attachment
bowlby looked at the work of lorenz and harlow for ideas and proposed an evolutionarily explanation that attachment was an innate system that gives a survival advantage
attachment like imprinting evolved as a mechanism to keep young animals safe by ensuring they stay close to adult caregivers
monotropy
placed great emphasis on a child’s attachment to one particular caregiver
believed that the child’s attachment to this one caregiver is different and more important than others
bowlby called this person the mother but it was clear that it did not need to be the biological mother or even a women
bowlby believed that the more time a baby spent with this mother figure (primary attachment figure) the better
law of continuity - stated that the more constant and predictable a child’s care the better the quality of their attachment
law of accumulated - the effects of every separation from the mother add up
social releases and the critical period
bowlby suggested that babies are born with a set of innate behaviours like smiling cooing and gripping that encourage attention from adults
called these social releases
their purpose is to activate adult social interaction and so make an adult attach to the baby
recognised that attachment was a reciprocal process
both mother and baby are hard wired into becoming attached
interplay between baby and adult attachment systems gradually builds the relationship between baby and caregiver - beginning in the early weeks of life
there is a critical period around six months when the infant attachment system is active
a child is maximally sensitive at six months and this possibly extends up to age of two
if an attachment is not formed in this time a child will find it much harder to from one later
internal working model
bowlby proposed that a child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primal attachment figure
called an internal working model because it serves as a model for what relationships are like
a child whose first experience is of s loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable
a child’s whose first relationship involves poor treatment they will tend to form further poor relationships in which they expect the same treatment
people tend o base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented
explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves
limitation
validity of monotropy challenged
concept of monotropy lacks validity
Schaffer and Emerson found that although most babies did attach to one person at first
a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
although the first attachment does appear to have particularly strong influence on later behaviour
this may simply mean it is stronger not necessarily different in quality from the child’s other attachments
example - other attachment s to family members provide all the same key qualities such as emotional support
means that bowlby may be incorrect that there is a unique quality and importance to the child’s primary attachment
strength
support for social releasers
evidence supporting the role of social releasers
clear evidence that cute baby behaviours are designed to elicit interaction from caregivers
Brazelton observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers
the researchers then instructed the babies primary attachment figures to ignore the babies social releasers
babies became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up and lay motionless
illustrates the role of social releasers in emotional development and suggests that they are important in the process of attachment development
strength
support of internal working model
Bowlbys theory is support for the internal working model
the idea of the internal working model predicts that patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next
Bailey assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their one year old babies
researchers measured the mothers attachment to their own primary attachment figures
researchers also assessed the attachment quality of babies
found that mothers with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies
supports bowlbys idea that mothers ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their internal working models
