Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Bowlby's Theory of Attachment
- Attachment is Adaptive and Innate
- Children have an innate drive to become
attached to a caregiver for protection
- Adaptive because the behaviours
increase the chance of survival
- Evolutionary
Theory
- Behavioural system evolved because
of its survival and reproductive value
- Similar to imprinting
- Sensitive
Period
- Since attachment is innate there is likely a limited window for its development
- Suggested that 2nd quarter of the 1st year is when infants
are most sensitive to the development of attachment
- Becomes increasingly difficult to form infant-caregiver attachment as months pass
- Evaluation
- Individual Differences
- Children can form different types of
attachment
- Secure and insecure attachments
- Responsiveness of caregiver is the main factor
in determining type of attachment formed
- Cultural Variations
- Attachment is subject to cultural influences
- Some cultures promote dependency rather
than independency by secure attachment
- Caregiving is Adaptive
- The drive to provide caregiving is also innate because it is adaptive
- Social releasers elicit caregiving
- A Secure
Base
- Safe place from which a child can explore
- Attachment fosters independence
- Internal Working Model
- Mental model about emotional relationships
- What individuals expect from others and relationships
- Monotropy and Hierarchy
- Primary attachment -
Monotropy
- Bias towards one individual
- Most attached to the most responsive to social releasers
- Usually the
mother
- Foundation for emotional development,
self-esteem and later relationships
- Secondary attachments form hierarchy
- Act as safety net
- Contribute to social
development
- Children without hierarchy
appear to lack social skills
- The Continuity Hypothesis
- Links in with the
internal working model
- There is a link between early attachment
relationship and later emotional behaviour
- Those who are insecurely attached have social and emotional difficulties later on in
life