Evolutionary theory (Bowlby)

Evolutionary theory (Bowlby)

1. Innate drive to become attached to help with survival

2. Innate behaviours have a specific time period (critical period) for development

   • 3 - 6 months for attachment
     • Infants who don't make attachments in this time period struggle to make attachments later on in life

3. Attachments made due to sensitivity

4. Social releaser - social behaviour / characteristic that elicits caregiving and leads to attachment

   • Smiling and 'baby face'

5. Monotropy - one special emotional bond with primary attachment figure

6. Evaluation

   • Positive
     • Attachment is adaptive
       • Distant ancestors would need to attach straight away to survive and so would animals like monkeys so they can cling to their mum
       • Age of attachment is linked to features in a species life
       • When human infants start crawling (6 months+) attachment is vital.
     • Monotropy
       • Prior and Glaser (06) research supports the hierarchal model presented by Bowlby rather than the multi attachment model
     • Continuity hypothesis
       • Minnesota parent - child study - Sroufe et al (05) supported the C.H
   • Negative
     • Sensitive period
       • Bowlby said that those who did not form an attachment in the C.P would not be able to at all
         • Rutter et al showed that is true to an extent but is not impossibe
           • S.P is used to show the developmental window where children are max receptive to formation of characteristics. But can also make attachment outside this window

7. Internal working hypothesis - mental model of the world which enables individuals to predict and control their environment. I.e. relating to expectations to a relationship

8. Continuity hypothesis - socially secure children go on to be socially secure adults