BOWLBY'S MONOTROPIC THEORY
● 1958 and 1969
● Suggested that attachment is an innate process that serves an important evolutionary function
● Focus on mother-infant attachment but also romantic attachment
● Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristics of an organism over time
● Characteristics that are adaptive will be passed onto the next generation
● Attachment between infant and caregiver = prime example of a behaviour pattern that is rooted in biology and
evolution
● Has been programmed into humans
● Attachment is found to operate similarly in almost all cultures
● Between infant and caregiver is a prime example of a behaviour pattern that is rooted in biology and evolution
● Purpose and function of attachment is the same regardless of ethnic/cultural differences
○ To keep the baby close to the caregiver for safety and protection
○ To allow the child to explore and learn within a safe context
○ Develop a loving and reciprocal relationship which can be passed through generations
● Critical period: if attachment is not developed during this time then it may not happen
○ 0 - 2.5 years
● Monotropy: a child has an innate need to attach to one primary attachment figure
○ Suggests there is one relationship more important than the rest – usually the mother
○ Other attachments may grow in a hierarchy below
● Internal working model: the child’s primary attachment provides an internal working model which influences
later relationships
○ Cognitive framework – mental representations for understanding the world, self, and others
○ Guided by memories and expectations from previous experiences
○ 3 main features: a model of others as being trustworthy + a model of the self as valuable + a model of the
self as effective when interacting with others.
■ Around the age of 3 – become a part of the personality and affects the understanding of the world
and future interactions with others
Main principles of Bowlby's theory:
● Infants form one main attachment - monotropy
● Attachments provide an internal working model (template of expectations) for future attachments
● Infants need to attach within a critical period or there may be lasting negative consequences
○ Before the age of 2 1/2
● Attachments form innately due to social releasers which are innate, care-eliciting behaviours such as smiling,
cooing etc
● The attachments which form in early life will go on to influence how adults behave in relationships later on
○ Continuity hypothesis
Learning theory vs Bowlby's theory
● Learning theory proposes that attachments occurs through interaction with the external environment
○ We are born with no knowledge and then acquire it through learning
○ Attachment occurs due to learned associations between the infant and mother through food
● Bowlby's theory takes an evolutionary perspective - therefore attachments form due to inborn, innate tendencies
which drive survival
AO1:
Bowlby's attachment theory focuses on mother-infant relationships and suggests that attachment is an innate process that
serves an important evolutionary function. Furthermore, it suggests that attachment has been programmed into humans as
a means of survival and does not differ dramatically between ethnicities and cultures. Additionally, attachments provide
an internal working model for future attachments that form due to social releasers which are innate - care-eliciting
behaviours such as smiling - that will then be passed down generations since they are biological.
AO3:
● 1958 and 1969
● Suggested that attachment is an innate process that serves an important evolutionary function
● Focus on mother-infant attachment but also romantic attachment
● Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristics of an organism over time
● Characteristics that are adaptive will be passed onto the next generation
● Attachment between infant and caregiver = prime example of a behaviour pattern that is rooted in biology and
evolution
● Has been programmed into humans
● Attachment is found to operate similarly in almost all cultures
● Between infant and caregiver is a prime example of a behaviour pattern that is rooted in biology and evolution
● Purpose and function of attachment is the same regardless of ethnic/cultural differences
○ To keep the baby close to the caregiver for safety and protection
○ To allow the child to explore and learn within a safe context
○ Develop a loving and reciprocal relationship which can be passed through generations
● Critical period: if attachment is not developed during this time then it may not happen
○ 0 - 2.5 years
● Monotropy: a child has an innate need to attach to one primary attachment figure
○ Suggests there is one relationship more important than the rest – usually the mother
○ Other attachments may grow in a hierarchy below
● Internal working model: the child’s primary attachment provides an internal working model which influences
later relationships
○ Cognitive framework – mental representations for understanding the world, self, and others
○ Guided by memories and expectations from previous experiences
○ 3 main features: a model of others as being trustworthy + a model of the self as valuable + a model of the
self as effective when interacting with others.
■ Around the age of 3 – become a part of the personality and affects the understanding of the world
and future interactions with others
Main principles of Bowlby's theory:
● Infants form one main attachment - monotropy
● Attachments provide an internal working model (template of expectations) for future attachments
● Infants need to attach within a critical period or there may be lasting negative consequences
○ Before the age of 2 1/2
● Attachments form innately due to social releasers which are innate, care-eliciting behaviours such as smiling,
cooing etc
● The attachments which form in early life will go on to influence how adults behave in relationships later on
○ Continuity hypothesis
Learning theory vs Bowlby's theory
● Learning theory proposes that attachments occurs through interaction with the external environment
○ We are born with no knowledge and then acquire it through learning
○ Attachment occurs due to learned associations between the infant and mother through food
● Bowlby's theory takes an evolutionary perspective - therefore attachments form due to inborn, innate tendencies
which drive survival
AO1:
Bowlby's attachment theory focuses on mother-infant relationships and suggests that attachment is an innate process that
serves an important evolutionary function. Furthermore, it suggests that attachment has been programmed into humans as
a means of survival and does not differ dramatically between ethnicities and cultures. Additionally, attachments provide
an internal working model for future attachments that form due to social releasers which are innate - care-eliciting
behaviours such as smiling - that will then be passed down generations since they are biological.
AO3:
