Bowlby
also claimed that mothers are genetically predisposed to respond to
the baby. Infants are programmed to behave in ways that
activate caring responses in adults, these are called "social
releasers". Examples of social releasers are smiling, crying, gazing
and grasping. This means that mother-child interactions eventually lead
to attachment, since the two way process means that they are kept in
close proximity with each other.
Recent research using fMRI has shown that the reward centres of mothers' brains are activated when they see their own child smiling, but not when they see other children smiling (Strethearn et al. 2008), which provides tentative support for some of Bowlby's ideas.
There is a good deal of evidence that attachment formation is a biological process: attachment develops even if the child is maltreated – children tend to cling when they are frightened or upset and in the absence of anyone else, they will cling to the person maltreating them; external rewards are not required for attachment to develop; attachment is extremely resistant to extinction; and secure attachments tend to foster autonomy rather than dependency (Rutter & Rutter, 1992).
Critical
Period
A
further aspect of Bowlby's theory is the idea of a critical period
for attachment to take place. Bowlby was clearly influenced by the
ethologist, Konrad Lorenz, who found that Greylag geese would only
imprint on moving objects that they saw within 24 hours of hatching.
Bowlby
(1951) believed that if attachment formation is delayed for more than
12 months, it is unlikely that a proper attachment will form;
however, he argued that sometimes the critical period can last up to
2½ years although this is rare.
Monotropy
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Bowlby's theory is his concept of monotropy: he believed that babies are programmed to develop a special attachment with one person and that person is usually the mother or another significant female. This relationship is fundamentally different to any other attachment and forms the basis of future relationships:
“Mother love in infancy is as important for mental health as vitamins and proteins are for physical health.” John Bowlby (1951)
The Role of Fathers
To Bowlby, fathers are emotionally insignificant to the child, although they can provide emotional and financial support to the mother.
Evaluation of Bowlby's Theory
Michael Rutter (1981) has strongly criticised Bowlby’s concept of ‘monotropy’. He claims that infants often show multiple attachments and often the primary attachment is to someone other than the mother and can be male. Bowlby did, however, agree that infants can form multiple attachments; nevertheless, Bowlby was adamant that the most important attachment is with the mother. Shaffer and Emerson (1964) provide support for Rutter's criticisms of Bowlby's theory. They studied 60 infants from birth at intervals of four weeks. The mother reported on the child’s behaviour in a number of situations, such as:
-
Infant left alone
-
Left with babysitter
-
Put to bed
A key behaviour studied was protest, in particular:
-
Did the infant protest when someone left?
-
How much did the infant protest?
-
Whose departure resulted in protest?
It was found that infants were often attached to people who did not perform caretaking activities like feeding, bathing and changing nappies. Moreover, the primary attachment was often the father, sometimes the attachment was of equal strength for both parents (see table)
