Explanations of attachment - Monotropic Theory

Bowlby's Monotropic Theory:Bowlby rejected the learning theory as an explanation for attachment because 'if it were true, an infant of a year or two should take readily to whomever feeds them and this is clearly not the case'. Bowlby proposed attachment was an innate (natural) system that gave a survival advantage. Imprinting and attachment evolved because they ensure that young animals stay close to their caregivers who protect them from hazards. Monotropy:Monotropy is a child's attachment, to one particular caregiver, that is different and more important than the other attachments. Bowlby called this caregiver the mother but it does not have to be the biological mother. Bowlby believed that the more time a baby spent with their primary attachment figure the better. He came up with two principles; The law of continuity - the more constant and predictable a child's care, the better quality of their attachment The law of accumulated separation - the effects of every separation from the mother add up and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose Evaluation: Bowlby believed that babies formed one attachment to their primary caregiver and this attachment was special and different to the others. After this attachment was formed a child could then form other attachments. However Schaffer and Emerson's research did not support this. They found that although most babies formed one attachment first, they also found that a significant minority could form multiple attachments at the same time It is unclear whether there is something unique about the first attachment. Studies of attachment to mother and father show that attachment to the mother is more important in predicting later behaviour. However this could mean that attachment to the primary attachment figure is just stronger than other attachments, not necessarily that it is different in quality

Social Releasers and the Critical Period:Bowlby suggested that babies are born with a set of innate cute behaviours like smiling, cooing and gripping, that encourage attention from adults. These are called social releasers because they activate the adult attachment system i.e. make an adult feel love towards the baby. Attachment is a reciprocal process. Both mother and baby have an innate predisposition (tendency) to become attached and social releasers trigger that response in caregivers.The interaction between infant and adult attachment systems gradually builds the relationship between infant and caregiver, beginning in the early weeks of life. Bowlby suggested there is a critical period around 2 years when the infant attachment system is active. He described this as a sensitive period. A child is normally sensitive at the age of 2 but if an attachment is not formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later.Evaluation:There is evidence to show that social releasers initiate social interaction and that doing so is important to the baby. Brazleton et al. observed mothers and babies during their interactions, reporting the existence of interactional synchrony. They then did an experiment where primary attachment figures were instructed to ignore their babies signals. The babies initially showed some distress but when the attachment figures continued to ignore their signals, some babies responded by curling up and lying motionless. The fact the babies responded so strongly supports Bowlby's ideas about the significance of infant social behaviour in eliciting caregiving.

Internal Working Model:Children form a mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver. This is called an internal working model because it serves as a model for what relationships are like. It has a powerful effect on the nature of the child's future relationships. A child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver, will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable, and they will bring these qualities to future relationships. However a child whose first relationship involves poor treatment will tend to form further poor relationships in which they expect such treatment from others or treat others in that way. The internal working model affects the child's later ability to be parent themselves. People tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented. Evaluation:Bailey et al. assessed 99 mothers with 1 year old babies on the quality of their attachment to their own mothers using a standard interview procedure. The researchers also assessed the attachment of the babies to the mothers by observation. It was found that the mothers who had reported that they had poor attachments to their mothers, were much more likely to have children classified as poor according to the observations. This supports the idea that an internal working model was being passed through families