BOWLBY’S MONOTROPIC THEORY
SPECIFICATION: Explanations of Bowlby’s monotropic theory. The concepts of a critical period and an internal working model.
"MONOTROPIC THEORY" OR "ATTACHMENT THEORY"?
Bowlby's theory was “Attachment Theory” (1969), not “Monotropic Theory” (that's an AQA term).
AQA uses it to describe his theory, possibly to emphasise monotropy, one of its key ideas. But it’s not the actual name of the theory.
WAIT… WHAT ABOUT MATERNAL DEPRIVATION?
That’s a separate piece of work, published much earlier in 1951.
⚠️ Important: Students often confuse the two, but they are different.
Bowlby’s theory of attachment has more components than the maternal deprivation (see the table below)
FINAL TIP FOR ESSAYS:
Only discuss ideas like the internal working model, secure base, and continuity hypothesis when writing about Attachment Theory — not the Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis.
They’re related theories but not interchangeable.
WHAT IS ATTACHMENT THEORY?
Attachment theory is a psychological model that explains how and why we form emotional bonds — especially between infants and their primary caregivers. The theory was originally developed by John Bowlby (1969), who believed that attachment is an evolved survival mechanism
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES IN BOWLBY’S THEORY
1. CRITICAL PERIOD – Attachment must form during a sensitive window (usually before age 2).
2. INNATE PROGRAMMING – Babies are biologically wired to attach, using social releasers.
3. CONTINUITY HYPOTHESIS – Early attachment quality affects future emotional and social outcomes.
4. INTERNAL WORKING MODEL – First relationships create a template for later ones.
5. MONOTROPY – One key caregiver is more important than all others.
6. SECURE BASE – A strong attachment lets the child explore the world while feeling safe.
7. SURVIVAL ADVANTAGE – Attachment boosts survival by keeping infants close to caregivers
¨‘C-I-C-I-M-P-S’
INTRODUCTION
Attachment theory is the joint work of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991). Drawing on concepts from ethology, evolution, cybernetics, information processing, developmental psychology, and psychoanalysis, John Bowlby formulated the basic principles of his attachment theory. He exalted the primary caregiver status by revolutionising how the Western world viewed the role of bonding and attachment. Bowlby’s theories were based on juvenile patients in his clinical practice, where he observed the effects of disrupted bonds through separation, deprivation, and bereavement.
HUMAN BABIES ARE BORN PREMATURE
Bowlby argued that human babies are biologically driven to form attachments because they are born helpless. Like other intelligent mammals, humans are altricial—our young are born immature and dependent. But uniquely, humans are also born prematurely due to evolutionary trade-offs.
The human brain is significant, and upright walking narrowed the female pelvis—so babies evolved to be born earlier before their heads grow too big. As a result, newborns are essentially unfinished and utterly reliant on adult care to survive.
There are many theories given to explain the early birth of human babies but hip size and ease of birth remain. one of the favourites.
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BIOLOGICAL PROGRAMMING IN MOTHERS AND INFANTS
Bowlby believed that human infants' extreme vulnerability at birth explains why attachment behaviours have been naturally selected through evolution. In other words, babies are biologically programmed from birth to seek connection with a caregiver because such behaviours increase their chances of survival.
Infants have innate programming to attach. This means they are born with built-in behaviours that promote bonding with a caregiver. For example, babies who seek proximity—by crying, clinging, and making eye contact—are likelier to stay close to someone who can protect, feed, and nurture them. Over generations, this trait has been naturally selected because it improves survival outcomes.
PROXIMITY
Bowlby emphasised proximity-seeking as central to the attachment process. He suggested that the drive to stay near a caregiver ensures that infants remain within safe reach of someone who can meet their basic needs.
This behaviour is biological and pre-programmed, not learned.
It serves an evolutionary function: babies who stay close to caregivers are more likely to survive and pass on their genes.
The caregiver, usually the mother, acts as a secure base—a point of safety from which the child can explore their environment and to which they can return when threatened. This also aids cognitive and social development as the infant learns through observation, imitation, and interaction.
Touch and physical closeness are essential. For example, research by Feldman et al. (2002) found that premature babies who received skin-to-skin contact with their caregivers gained weight more rapidly, showed better physiological regulation, and had higher survival rates. This supports Bowlby’s belief that physical closeness and proximity-seeking are adaptive behaviours—designed by evolution to promote both bonding and survival.
SOCIAL RELEASERS
Bowlby also believed that caregivers are biologically predisposed to respond to infants. For example, breastfeeding releases oxytocin, a hormone associated with emotional bonding. In addition, caregivers tend to experience distress when hearing a baby cry and emotional reward when interacting with the baby’s face—responses likely linked to activation in the limbic system. These biological reactions promote caregiving behaviour and help ensure the infant receives consistent care.
Social releasers are specific behaviours infants exhibit that naturally elicit caregiving responses from adults. These instinctual behaviours form and strengthen the attachment bond between the infant and the caregiver.
Here’s a list of common social releasers and the responses they typically elicit:
Crying: Signals distress or discomfort, prompting the caregiver to soothe, comfort, or address the infant’s needs.
Smiling: Encourages interaction and bonding; often elicits smiles and affectionate responses from the caregiver.
Gazing or Looking: This activity attracts the caregiver’s attention and engages them in mutual eye contact, fostering connection and emotional synchrony.
Coos and Babbling: Invite verbal interaction and communication from the caregiver, strengthening the social bond.
Reaching Out: Indicates a desire for closeness or to be held, prompting the caregiver to pick up, hold, or cuddle the infant.
Mimicry: When infants mimic facial expressions or gestures, it encourages continued social interaction and teaches the infant about social cues.
Laughing: Like smiling, laughing is a positive feedback mechanism encouraging caregivers to engage in playful interactions.
Clutching or Grasping: An instinctive reaction to being held, which can reassure the caregiver of the infant’s engagement and need for security.
These social releasers are crucial in the early stages of life. They play a key role in the development of attachment by ensuring that caregivers provide the necessary care and emotional support. They are part of an evolutionary mechanism designed to enhance infant survival by maintaining proximity to the caregiver.
INTERNAL WORKING MODEL AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS
For Bowlby, attachment was about immediate survival and long-term emotional and social development. He argued that early experiences with a primary caregiver form the Internal Working Model—a cognitive framework or schema that shapes individuals' understanding and navigating relationships throughout life. Early experiences with caregivers gradually give rise to a system of thoughts, memories, beliefs, expectations, emotions, and behaviours about the self and others. This system, called the "internal working model of social relationships", continues to develop with time and experience
This model is essentially a mental template. If a caregiver consistently responds to the infant’s needs—for example, appearing when the baby cries—the infant begins to internalise a sense of being valued, worthy of care, and safe in relationships. This becomes their default expectation, affecting how they interpret others’ behaviour, self-worth, and behaviour in future relationships.
Bowlby believed that the quality of early attachment relationships determines later relationship outcomes, including a person’s ability to form close, trusting bonds as both a partner and a parent. For example:
Secure early attachments → More likely to become socially and emotionally competent adults, capable of healthy relationships.
Insecure early attachments → May result in anxiety, avoidance, or difficulty trusting others later in life.
The Internal Working Model also helps the child understand and predict their caregiver’s behaviour, allowing them to develop some level of reciprocity—a two-way relationship rather than a one-sided dependency. This early interaction—especially interactional synchrony and reciprocal behaviour—lays the emotional groundwork for future social functioning.
CRITICAL PERIOD, MONOTROPY, AND THE CONTINUITY HYPOTHESIS
According to Bowlby, developing a stable Internal Working Model relies on certain key conditions being met during infancy. The emotional template that guides future relationships may never properly form without these. These essential conditions are a critical period, monotropy, and continuity.
CRITICAL PERIOD
Bowlby borrowed the concept of the critical period from the work of Lorenz, who pointed to the rapid formation of attachments in animals. Bowlby argued that there is a limited window in early life—a critical period—in which attachment must occur. He believed this period lasted up to 2½ years of age. If a strong bond is not formed with a consistent caregiver during this time, or if the bond is repeatedly disrupted, the child may fail to develop an Internal Working Model. This could result in long-term emotional and relational difficulties, including difficulty trusting others, low self-worth, and an inability to form secure relationships.
CONTINUOUS PRIMARY RELATION WITH MONOTROPIC CAREGIVER
Monotropy refers to Bowlby’s belief that one relationship, usually with the biological mother, is more important than all others. He proposed that this single bond is unique in quality and central to the child’s emotional development. While a child may form multiple attachments, Bowlby claimed a primary attachment figure acts as the blueprint for all subsequent relationships. Without this deep, reliable bond, the foundation for the Internal Working Model is compromised.
CONTINUITY HYPOTHESIS
The continuity hypothesis is Bowlby’s idea that early attachment patterns persist into adulthood. A secure, responsive relationship in infancy sets the stage for healthy emotional functioning later in life and the development of the internal working model. . Conversely, disrupted, inconsistent, or neglectful care may lead to maladaptive emotional responses, fear of abandonment, and relationship instability. The hypothesis explains why Bowlby believed that even short separations from the primary caregiver could be damaging—particularly during the critical period.
In short, Bowlby’s theory suggests that the Internal Working Model cannot develop in isolation. It depends on early conditions being “just right”: a strong, continuous bond with a single caregiver formed within a narrow biological window. Without this, the consequences can echo well into adulthood, affecting mental health, emotional regulation, and the ability to connect meaningfully with others.
RESEARCH
Attachment theory, pioneered by John Bowlby, remains one of the most influential frameworks in developmental psychology. It suggests that early attachment experiences with a primary caregiver profoundly shape emotional, social, and cognitive outcomes across the lifespan. Below is a research-led evaluation of its core claims.
THE CRITICAL PERIOD
LORENZ (1935)
In his study of imprinting in geese, Lorenz found that goslings would only form an attachment to a caregiver (even if it was a human) within a fixed time window, around 12–17 hours after hatching. While not directly transferable to humans, it supports the idea that attachment is biologically time-sensitive.
HARLOW (1958)
Rhesus monkeys raised in complete isolation showed long-term emotional and social damage. Those deprived for longer than 6 months never recovered normal behaviours, suggesting there is a point of no return — a critical window for bonding.
GENIE (1970s)
Locked in near-total isolation until age 13, Genie missed almost all early human contact. Despite later care, she never developed full language or emotional responsiveness. This case strongly supports the idea that certain attachments and developments are biologically time-limited.
KOLUCHOVA TWINS
Often misunderstood as a challenge to Bowlby, the Koluchova twins were found at age 7 after years of neglect. However, they had each other for emotional connection, and there is evidence they had intermittent early care from their biological mother. Their later recovery does not disprove the critical period — it shows that early attachment experiences may not have been fully absent and that resilience can exist when some form of attachment or bonding is present.
OXANA MALAYA
Raised by dogs until age 7, with little meaningful human interaction, Oxana displayed feral behaviour and limited emotional understanding. Her case strongly supports the idea that typical development is disrupted without early human bonding.
EDIK: A CASE OF REACTIVE ATTACHMENT DISORDER
Full Name: Edik Kalka
Discovered: 2002, Mykolaiv, Ukraine
Age Found: 4 years old
Environment: Edik was raised in an apartment with stray dogs after being severely neglected by his alcoholic mother. She reportedly fed him but provided no emotional or social care. His primary companionship came from the dogs with whom he lived.
SYMPTOMS OBSERVED
Delayed Speech: Edik spoke only a few words when he was found.
Attachment Issues: He showed little to no preference for human interaction and exhibited limited emotional expression.
Animal-like Behaviours: He displayed behaviours such as barking, sniffing food, and moving on all fours — signs of identification with animals rather than humans.
Signs of RAD: His presentation aligned with Reactive Attachment Disorder — notably disinhibited type — as he exhibited difficulty forming appropriate attachments and social boundaries
WILD BOY OF AVEYRON (1800s)
A classic feral child case, he was found in the woods with no known early human interaction. Despite later efforts at education and care, he never developed language or a full emotional connection, suggesting missed developmental windows.
ROMANIAN ORPHANS – RUTTER ET AL. (1998)
Children adopted before 6 months typically develop well. Those adopted later were more likely to have attachment disorders and cognitive delays. This study provides empirical evidence that the critical period is actual and lasts around 6 months. However, it also shows that recovery is possible while outcomes worsen after this window, especially with high-quality care.
HODGES AND TIZARD (1989)
Institutionalised children who lacked one-to-one care in the first two years had great difficulty forming attachments later, even after adoption. This supports the view that early experience is foundational.
CHILDREN OF MENTALLY ILL OR ADDICTED MOTHERS
Research shows that prolonged emotional unavailability in the first years of life, due to maternal depression, addiction, or psychosis, is linked to insecure or disorganised attachment and later emotional difficulties. Again, this shows the first 2.5 years are crucial for healthy attachment.
MONOTROPY AND CONTINUOUS CARE
Bowlby argued that infants form one primary attachment, usually to the mother, which is more important than all others. While Schaffer and Emerson's research showed that multiple attachments are standard and early, monotropy still holds weight—most children prefer one figure.
Robertson and Robertson’s observations of children separated from primary caregivers showed that even short-term separations led to distress, supporting the idea that one attachment figure plays a unique role. However, their findings also demonstrated that sensitive substitutes could mitigate long-term harm, challenging the exclusivity of monotropy.
CONTINUITY HYPOTHESIS AND INTERNAL WORKING MODEL (IWM)
The Minnesota Longitudinal Study (Sroufe et al., 1975–present) offers strong evidence for continuity. It found that securely attached children were more socially skilled, empathic, and emotionally resilient as they grew up.
Simpson’s longitudinal research similarly showed that attachment styles identified in infancy predicted emotional regulation, trust, and the quality of adult romantic relationships. These studies strongly support that early attachment relationships lay the foundation for later social and emotional functioning.
Bowlby proposed that early attachment experiences form a mental model — a schema — for understanding future relationships.
Hazan and Shaver's “Love Quiz” showed that adults’ romantic styles aligned with their early attachment types: Secure individuals reported trusting, lasting relationships, while insecure types experienced more issues.
McCarthy (1999) also found that securely attached individuals in childhood tended to form healthier romantic bonds as adults. Bailey et al. (2007) demonstrated the IWM’s intergenerational transmission — mothers with poor early attachments were more likely to raise insecurely attached children.
These findings robustly support the concept of an enduring cognitive blueprint for relationships.
SOCIAL RELEASERS
Social releasers—like crying, smiling, or making eye contact—elicit caregiving and bonding. The “still-face” experiment showed that infants become distressed when responsiveness is withdrawn, highlighting the importance of mutual interaction.
Feldman et al. (2002) demonstrated that premature babies, given skin-to-skin contact, gained weight faster and bonded better, supporting Bowlby’s belief that early physical closeness is biologically significant.
Bell & Ainsworth (1972): Found that the more a mother responded to her baby’s cries in the early months, the less the baby cried later on. This supports the idea that crying is an evolved social releaser meant to elicit a caregiving response, and that a sensitive response reduces need over time.
Frodi et al. (1978) showed that mothers experience physiological arousal (e.g., a heart rate increase and facial muscle response) when hearing a baby cry, but this was significantly more pronounced in women than in men, supporting the idea that humans are biologically primed to respond to infant distress.
Bowlby (1969) cited research showing that mothers’ pupils dilate more in response to baby faces than adult faces, particularly their babies. This suggests that babies' faces function as visual social releasers, activating emotional and protective responses.
DeCasper & Fifer (1980): Found that newborns, even within hours of birth, can recognise and prefer their mother’s voice over a stranger’s. This implies that vocal tone acts as a two-way releaser, evoking a response in the caregiver and calming or orienting the infant.
Murray & Trevarthen (1985): In the famous “Still Face Experiment,” when mothers suddenly became unresponsive during face-to-face interaction, babies showed visible distress and tried to re-engage their caregiver. This shows how social releasers (like smiling and gaze) are innate and expected by infants — their disruption causes immediate alarm.
PROXIMITY AND SECURE BASE
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation confirmed that securely attached infants use their caregiver as a safe base for exploration. This proximity-seeking behaviour reflects evolutionary logic — staying close to a caregiver offers survival advantages.
Main and Solomon later added a fourth attachment type (disorganised), observed in infants who displayed contradictory behaviours when distressed, typically associated with abuse or trauma. This nuance in our understanding of how attachment styles form in high-risk contexts.
Feldman et al. (2002) found that premature babies given skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) with their mothers showed significantly faster weight gain, better heart rate regulation, and increased bonding behaviours. This supports Bowlby’s belief that proximity promotes survival and attachment.
Anisfeld et al. (1990): Found that mothers who carried their infants in soft baby carriers (close to the body) were more likely to have infants securely attached at 12 months (measured via the Strange Situation) than those using prams or hard seats.
Hertenstein et al. (2006) demonstrated that even simple touch conveys emotion, security, and bonding between caregiver and infant, reinforcing that physical closeness is comforting and communicative.
Bigelow & Power (2012): Found that skin-to-skin contact in the first hours after birth helped regulate newborns' temperature, crying, and cortisol levels, and increased maternal bonding hormones like oxytocin, directly supporting proximity as biologically adaptive.
Blass et al. (1995) found that sucrose plus skin-to-skin contact reduced pain responses in newborns undergoing medical procedures. The implication: proximity doesn’t just soothe — it protects.
Moeskops et al. (2020): Infants who co-slept with their parents showed better synchrony in breathing and heart rate regulation. Co-sleeping was linked with higher oxytocin levels and more rapid attachment formation, supporting Bowlby’s secure base theory.
Swain et al. (2007): Brain imaging showed that mothers holding or looking at their babies had significantly increased activity in brain areas linked to empathy, reward, and caregiving (e.g., the medial prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus). The baby’s presence – especially physical closeness – primes protective caregiving.
INNATE PROGRAMMING (EVOLUTIONARY BASIS)
Lorenz’s imprinting studies with geese showed that animals are genetically predisposed to form attachments to the first moving object they see. Harlow’s work with rhesus monkeys reinforced this idea. Monkeys preferred cloth “mothers” who offered comfort over wire ones that provided food, suggesting an emotional, not just functional, basis for attachment.
Harlow’s monkeys raised without maternal care later struggled to mate, parent, or interact socially, supporting Bowlby’s claims about the long-term impact of early attachment and the internal working model.
ADULT ATTACHMENT & THE AAI
Mary Main developed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), which assesses how adults reflect on their childhood relationships. The AAI found that coherent narratives — not just “happy memories” — predicted secure attachment in the next generation. This supports Bowlby’s claim that early attachment shapes adult relational templates.
ATTACHMENT & BULLYING BEHAVIOUR
Myron-Wilson & Smith (1998) found a link between early attachment and later peer interactions. Insecure-avoidant children were more likely to be bullied, while insecure-resistant children were more likely to bully others. Securely attached children were least involved in bullying dynamics. This shows how early emotional regulation affects later social behaviour and peer relationships.
CONCLUSION
Research broadly supports Bowlby’s attachment theory, especially concepts like the internal working model, continuity hypothesis, and the importance of early bonding. Some aspects, like monotropy and the rigidity of the critical period, have been refined in light of newer findings. Nevertheless, the theory remains a robust framework for understanding emotional development across the lifespan.
EVALUATION OF BOWLBY’S RESEARCH METHODS
Although Bowlby’s theory was pioneering, his research methods have been criticised for lacking experimental control. Due to ethical constraints and the complex nature of human attachment, much of the evidence was non-experimental, meaning it could not establish cause and effect. However, the strength of Bowlby’s work lies in its triangulation — he drew on a wide range of research methods to support his claims. These included longitudinal studies, correlational data, naturalistic observations, case studies (e.g. Genie, the Koluchová twins), interviews, and animal research (e.g. Lorenz, Harlow).
In later years, advances in neuroscience, such as MRI and brain scans, have offered biological evidence that early attachment experiences can shape brain development, adding considerable weight to Bowlby’s original claims. While we cannot test attachment theory in controlled lab settings, the convergence of diverse methodologies gives his work strong theoretical validity.
̈ EVALUATION OF BOWLBY’S MONOTROPIC THEORY
CRITICISM: GENDER STEREOTYPING AND MATERNAL MONOTROPY
Bowlby’s monotropic theory has been criticised for reinforcing traditional gender roles, particularly around motherhood. Some interpreted his emphasis on the idea that infants need to form a single, primary attachment, typically to the mother, as a directive that women should remain at home to care for their children full-time. This was used in 1950s Britain to support a post-war social narrative encouraging women to leave the workforce and return to domestic life.
However, Bowlby himself did not present mothers as limited or subservient. On the contrary, he believed maternal care was powerful and essential to a child’s emotional development. His now-famous line — “a mother’s love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health” — has often been taken as a comment on women’s social role. However, in context, Bowlby highlighted the importance of early caregiving and the strength of that early bond rather than judging women’s choices or roles.
One criticism is that Bowlby placed disproportionate emphasis on the mother while overlooking the role of fathers and other attachment figures. His early work did not fully acknowledge that children can form multiple attachments and that these can provide emotional security. However, research suggests that children often prefer one specific figure when distressed.
Research by Robertson and Robertson provided a useful counterpoint. Observing toddlers placed in substitute care during periods of maternal separation, they found that when children received consistent, affectionate, and sensitive care, they showed no long-term emotional harm. These findings challenged Bowlby’s implication that separation from the mother inevitably causes developmental issues.
However, their findings are limited to toddlers, not infants in the first six months — the age Bowlby identified as the most crucial for forming a primary attachment. As such, their work doesn’t directly refute Bowlby’s critical period claim, but it does suggest that quality substitute care can mitigate the effects of separation in early childhood.
In summary, while Bowlby’s theory was rooted in his concern for children’s psychological development, it has sometimes been misapplied to support prescriptive views of motherhood. His original message was about the value of consistent, emotionally responsive care, not necessarily who provides it. But some have said: What’s so controversial about saying that if you have a baby, you should look after it?
LASTING IMPACT AND LEGACY
Despite this criticism, Bowlby’s work revolutionised the understanding of child development and attachment. He believed that a secure primary attachment was as vital to a child’s psychological well-being as vitamins and proteins are to physical health. He famously stated, “Mother love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health.” His research reshaped how society interacts with children, influencing parenting practices and highlighting the long-term impact of early relationships on emotional and social development.
Bowlby’s theory led to significant changes in hospital and childcare policies. Before his research, young children in hospitals were often separated from their parents, leading to distress and emotional harm. His findings helped establish policies allowing parents to stay with hospitalised children, reducing separation anxiety. His work also influenced adoption and foster care systems, prioritising stable, continuous caregiving over frequent changes in carers. His legacy remains significant in modern psychology, with attachment theory shaping early years education, social care, and parenting practice.
CULTURAL BIAS
Although Bowlby argued that attachment is an innate biological system, critics have pointed out that his theory may reflect a Western cultural bias. His emphasis on the mother as the central attachment figure and the idea that separation from her is universally damaging may not apply in all cultural contexts.
In many collectivist cultures, children are raised by multiple caregivers, and caregiving is shared across extended family networks. Yet, these children still form secure attachments, suggesting that a single attachment figure (monotropy) may not be biologically essential as Bowlby suggested.
While Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) critiqued Ainsworth's Strange Situation as a culturally specific method, their findings indirectly challenge Bowlby’s universality claim, suggesting that attachment behaviours may be shaped as much by social context as by biology.
PSYCHOANALYSIS MEETS EVOLUTION: THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF BOWLBY'S THEORY
Although Bowlby trained as a psychoanalyst, his attachment theory broke away from the more speculative traditions of classical psychoanalysis by incorporating empirical evidence and evolutionary biology. His development model was shaped by two key strands: the psychological importance of early caregiving relationships and the biological necessity of those bonds for infant survival.
On the one hand, Bowlby’s focus on the emotional relationship between infant and caregiver — especially the mother — reflected psychoanalytic thinking. He argued that the mother-child bond shaped internal models of the self and others, forming the foundation for future relationships and emotional stability. Disruptions to this early bond could, in Bowlby’s view, lead to anxiety, emotional difficulties, and disordered attachment patterns in later life.
On the other hand, Bowlby framed these emotional needs as evolutionary adaptations. He suggested that infants are biologically programmed to seek proximity to a primary caregiver because doing so increases their chances of survival in our ancestral environment. Behaviours such as crying, clinging, and smiling were seen as ‘social releasers’ — instinctual mechanisms designed to ensure the child stayed close to a protective adult. This ethological influence shifted from internal fantasy (the focus of traditional psychoanalysis) to observable, survival-driven behaviour.
Bowlby’s theory, therefore, represents a dual approach: it is a psychological account of emotional development and an evolutionary explanation of why such development occurs. His work helped redefine child psychology by grounding emotional attachment in biology while acknowledging the profound, lifelong psychological consequences of early relational experiences.
BEFORE HIS TIME: BOWLBY, PLASTICITY AND THE BRAIN
John Bowlby’s attachment theory was groundbreaking in its time — and, in retrospect, far ahead of it. Although he lacked the neuroscientific language available today, his work anticipated key concepts in developmental psychology and brain science, particularly experience-expectant plasticity, synaptic pruning, and sensitive periods.
Bowlby argued that infants are biologically primed to form attachments during a critical period in the first two and a half years of life, and ideally within the first six months. While the term "critical period" has since evolved into the more flexible concept of a sensitive period, the underlying principle remains: early relational experiences are biologically programmed to shape the brain's architecture.
We now understand this through the lens of neurodevelopmental plasticity — the idea that the brain develops in response to key environmental inputs. Frequent emotional and social interactions in early life strengthen certain neural connections, while unused ones are pruned away. This aligns with Bowlby’s concept of the internal working model, a mental blueprint for future relationships shaped by early attachment experiences.
Children who are consistently comforted and attended to build an expectation that relationships are safe, predictable, and worth investing in. Those neglected or inconsistently responded to may internalise beliefs of being unworthy, unloved, or unable to rely on others — patterns that can carry into adulthood.
REGULATION OF EMOTION AND STRESS
Recent neuroscience research supports Bowlby’s belief that secure attachments help children regulate emotions. Brain imaging studies show that securely attached children exhibit lower levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) and show better responses to fear and emotional challenges. Bowlby’s original emphasis on the safe base aligns with current understanding that attachment regulates fear and enhances vitality.
NEGATIVE PLASTICITY: REACTIVE ATTACHMENT DISORDER (RAD)
One of the most straightforward modern clinical illustrations of Bowlby’s theory, particularly the consequences of attachment failure, is Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). First formally recognised in psychiatric manuals decades after Bowlby’s work, RAD reflects the long-term effects of a child failing to form a secure attachment during the sensitive period.
RAD typically arises from extreme neglect, repeated changes in caregivers, or emotionally unresponsive environments. It is more than just insecure attachment — it is a clinically recognised attachment disorder characterised by profound difficulties in forming social relationships. Children with RAD either fail to seek comfort when distressed (the inhibited form) or show indiscriminate friendliness and lack of appropriate boundaries with strangers (the disinhibited form).
RAD demonstrates what happens when the internal working model fails to form. Rather than adapting to the social environment, the brain develops atypically, often resulting in long-term trust, empathy, and emotional regulation impairments. These consequences are well-documented in studies of children raised in extreme deprivation, such as Romanian orphanages in the 1990s. In these contexts, children were often left for hours or days without adult interaction. Some displayed signs of RAD even after adoption into loving homes, showing how deeply early deprivation can disrupt the attachment system.
RAD is often described as a form of negative plasticity, where instead of adaptive change, the brain rewires around absence, inconsistency, or harm. Bowlby never used the term, but his work laid the foundation for understanding this phenomenon.
MODERN ATTACHMENT THEORY
Modern attachment theory builds upon Bowlby’s original framework but emphasises emotional regulation and adaptability across the lifespan. It is based on three core principles:
Bonding is an intrinsic human need
Humans are biologically wired to form emotional bonds. Secure attachment relationships are essential to psychological well-being and survival.Regulation of emotion and fear to enhance vitality
A secure attachment figure acts as a buffer against stress and anxiety. Children learn to manage emotions and respond to challenges through co-regulation with a caregiver.Promoting adaptiveness and growth
Secure attachment promotes resilience, social competence, and the capacity for emotional development. These early relationships are a foundation for flexible, healthy functioning in later life.
PROMOTES ADAPTIVENESS AND GROWTH
Modern attachment theory focuses on how secure relationships promote resilience, growth, and emotional intelligence. These ideas were foreshadowed in Bowlby’s internal working model, where early relationships shape our expectations and behaviours in later relationships.
ASSESSMENT
Odd one out: Which of the following is NOT one of Bowlby’s key concepts?
a) Social releases
b) Innate programming
c) Self-actualisation
d) MonotropyAccording to Bowlby, babies display behaviours such as crying and smiling to trigger caregiver responses. These are called _______.
Multiple choice: Bowlby believed that attachment behaviours are:
a) Learned through reinforcement
b) A result of social learning theory
c) An innate evolutionary adaptation
d) Only present in human infantsTrue or false? Bowlby argued that a child can form multiple attachments of equal importance.
Fill in the blank: According to Bowlby, the critical period for forming an attachment occurs between _______ and _______ months.
What does "monotropy" mean in Bowlby’s attachment theory?
Application question: Sarah, a 10-month-old baby, cries when her mother leaves the room and seeks comfort from her when she returns. Explain how this behaviour supports Bowlby’s attachment theory.
Cause and effect: Explain how Bowlby’s concept of the internal working model influences future relationships.
Evaluation question: Briefly discuss one strength and one weakness of Bowlby’s attachment theory.
Scenario-based question: A psychologist observes that children who experience severe neglect in early infancy often struggle with forming secure relationships later in life. Using Bowlby’s theory, explain why this might happen.
