Attachment- Bowlby's Monotropic Attachment Theory

Bowlby rejected the learning theory as an explanation of attachment because he didn't think that an infant of 1 or 2 years of age should take readily whomever feeds him/ her. Instead, he looked into the animal studies for ideas and proposed an evolutionary explanation that attachment was an innate system that gave survival advantage. Imprinting and attamchment evolved as they ensure young animals stay close to caregivers and protect them from hazards.

Bowlby's theory is monotropic as he said that a child has an attachment to a specific figure and that this specific caregiver is different and more important than others. Bowlby called this the mother; was not necessarily the biological mother. He believed the more time the baby spent with this primary attachment figure, the stronger their attachment:

1)Law of continuity states that the mroe constant and predictable a child's care is, the better the attachment quality.

2)Law of accumulated separation states that the effects of separation from the mother add up and the safest dose is 0.

Bowlby suggested babies are born with a set of innate behaviours like smiling that encourages…