The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Monotropy?????

So according to Bowlby do infant only form one attachment or do they form one attachment which is more important than the rest?
They form one special attachment, usually with the primary care giver (mother).
And a weakness of his theory, is that it has been researched into, that many infants form more than one special attachment. Often, infants have greater relationships in later life, and during their childhood when they have multiple attachment figures.

For example, research found that having strong relationships with siblings, improved the ability to negotiate with peers.
Reply 3
Avatar for H.i
H.i
OP
2
Original post by iAstro
They form one special attachment, usually with the primary care giver (mother).


So they form multiple attachments but one more special than the rest? :smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by H.i
So they form multiple attachments but one more special than the rest? :smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile


Yes, the formation of other attachments are known as secondary attachments and are arranged in an hierarchy according to Bowlby, where some attachments are given more value than other ones.
Reply 5
Avatar for H.i
H.i
OP
2
Original post by iAstro
Yes, the formation of other attachments are known as secondary attachments and are arranged in an hierarchy according to Bowlby, where some attachments are given more value than other ones.


Okay i get it now, thank you!
Bowlby suggested that a child will form one single, special attachment (the monotropic bond) to a caregiver during the first 2 years of life (the critical period). The attachment is encouraged by proximity promoting behavior such as crying and smiling and if a child shows separation anxiety, this shows the attachment is secure.

Hope this helped in some way :-)
The concept of monotropy says is that while they can form more attachments, infants usually form "one primary, dominant bond which presides over others." That's from a recent coursework of mine. I also said something about it being vital so that maternal deprivation doesn't occur because 'mothering' needs to take effect during the critical period - the first 12-24 months of a child's life.

If this is for coursework and you want to go into it more you can look into Richard Bowlby (Bowlby's son) who said that while a child has his primary attachment, secondary attachments are also required for them to achieve secure attachment. A secondary attachment figure is typically the person after the primary attachment figure who the infant has consistent access to. For example, for my nephew this person would be me because I'm essentially his "nanny" sort of thing who has him from 9-6 every weekday. This is what I referenced for this in the same coursework I mentioned above.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 8
Avatar for H.i
H.i
OP
2
Thank you for the good explanations guys! :smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you