Explanations of attachment Bowlby’s Monotropic
theory
The function of attachment – aid to survival
Bowlby believed that attachment in human is the result of evolutionary selection
pressures
Bowlby argued that because new-born human infants are entirely helpless, they
have an innate drive to behave towards their mothers in ways that ensure their
survival
How:
Infants seeking proximity to their carer ensures their safety
What does that mean:
Infants who stay close to their mother are more likely to avoid dangers such as
becoming lost, being injured or attacked and, as a result, they are more likely to
survive
Sequence of development
Bowlby reasoned that the biological need for security has resulted in the infants
possessing a number of attachment behaviours, such as crying, smiling, clinging and
sucking
Bowlby believed that these behaviours are used to achieve the goal of a feeling of
security and that when infants feel insecure (e.g. when in an unfamiliar house), they
will produce these behaviours
Bowlby also believed that these behaviours are powerful stimuli to gain an adult
response
Safe base behaviour
Important to his theory was the idea that the mother provides a secure base for
exploration, and that as the infant’s feelings of security increase so they are more
prepared to move away from the mother (think about the difference in a young
child’s behaviour when at home and when visiting a strange environment)
Monotropy
Bowlby believed that infants display a strong innate tendency to become attached to
a single specific caregiver (typically though not necessarily the natural mother), a
tendency called monotropy
This attachment to the mother – figure is qualitatively different (different in kind-
unique) from any later attachments and this relationship is more important than all
the rest
theory
The function of attachment – aid to survival
Bowlby believed that attachment in human is the result of evolutionary selection
pressures
Bowlby argued that because new-born human infants are entirely helpless, they
have an innate drive to behave towards their mothers in ways that ensure their
survival
How:
Infants seeking proximity to their carer ensures their safety
What does that mean:
Infants who stay close to their mother are more likely to avoid dangers such as
becoming lost, being injured or attacked and, as a result, they are more likely to
survive
Sequence of development
Bowlby reasoned that the biological need for security has resulted in the infants
possessing a number of attachment behaviours, such as crying, smiling, clinging and
sucking
Bowlby believed that these behaviours are used to achieve the goal of a feeling of
security and that when infants feel insecure (e.g. when in an unfamiliar house), they
will produce these behaviours
Bowlby also believed that these behaviours are powerful stimuli to gain an adult
response
Safe base behaviour
Important to his theory was the idea that the mother provides a secure base for
exploration, and that as the infant’s feelings of security increase so they are more
prepared to move away from the mother (think about the difference in a young
child’s behaviour when at home and when visiting a strange environment)
Monotropy
Bowlby believed that infants display a strong innate tendency to become attached to
a single specific caregiver (typically though not necessarily the natural mother), a
tendency called monotropy
This attachment to the mother – figure is qualitatively different (different in kind-
unique) from any later attachments and this relationship is more important than all
the rest
