Bowlby’s monotropic theory | AQA A-Level Psychology Revision
Updated: Sep 9
For 7182 specification, first teach in September 2025
AQA A-Level Psychology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 45 minutes
These Bowlby’s monotropic theory A-Level Psychology revision notes explain why Bowlby viewed attachment as an innate, adaptive system that promotes survival. The theory proposes that infants are biologically prepared to form one especially important attachment during a critical early period. This relationship provides the basis for an internal working model, which shapes expectations about the self, other people and future relationships. The critical period and internal working model are explicitly required within the AQA attachment specification.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Explain Bowlby’s monotropic theory.
Define monotropy.
Explain why attachment is considered innate and adaptive.
Explain the role of social releasers.
Explain the concept of a critical period.
Explain how an internal working model develops.
Apply Bowlby’s theory to unfamiliar caregiver-infant situations.
Revision Notes 📚
Bowlby’s monotropic theory A-Level Psychology revision overview
John Bowlby proposed an evolutionary explanation of attachment.
He argued that infants are biologically programmed to form attachments because staying close to a caregiver increases their chances of survival.
The main features of the theory are:
Attachment is innate.
Attachment is adaptive.
Infants are born with social releasers.
One attachment has special importance, known as monotropy.
Attachment must develop during a critical period.
The first attachment creates an internal working model.
These ideas contrast with the conditioning and reinforcement account of attachment, which places greater emphasis on food and environmental learning.
Attachment is innate
Innate means biologically inherited rather than learned entirely through experience.
Bowlby argued that infants are born with a predisposition to seek closeness to a caregiver.
They do not have to learn from nothing that proximity is valuable.
Behaviours that support proximity include:
Crying.
Smiling.
Clinging.
Grasping.
Following.
Making eye contact.
Reaching towards a caregiver.
These behaviours make it more likely that an adult will approach, comfort and protect the infant.
Experience still affects which attachment becomes strongest and how secure it is. However, Bowlby believed the basic tendency to form attachments is biologically prepared.
Attachment is adaptive
An adaptive behaviour increases an organism’s chances of surviving and passing on its genes.
Human infants are highly dependent on adults.
They require protection from:
Hunger.
Cold.
Injury.
Predators and other dangers.
Separation from safe shelter.
Situations they cannot manage independently.
An infant who stays close to a protective caregiver is more likely to survive than an infant who moves away without seeking help.
Attachment therefore has survival value.
The process can be represented as:
Attachment behaviour keeps the infant close to a caregiver → the caregiver protects and supports the infant → survival becomes more likely
Natural selection and attachment
Bowlby’s theory is evolutionary.
Across many generations:
Infants varied in how strongly they sought proximity.
Infants who remained close to caregivers were more likely to survive.
Survivors were more likely to reproduce.
Attachment-related tendencies were passed to later generations.
Attachment therefore became a species-typical part of human development.
This does not mean every infant behaves identically.
It means that humans share a general biological predisposition to form close caregiver relationships.
Attachment is a two-way process
Bowlby did not view the infant as the only biologically prepared participant.
Caregivers may also be predisposed to respond to:
Crying.
Smiling.
Eye contact.
Clinging.
Infant facial features.
Distress signals.
The infant produces behaviours that attract care, while the caregiver responds with protection and comfort.
This creates an interaction that supports attachment formation.
Social releasers
What are social releasers?
Social releasers are innate infant behaviours or physical characteristics that encourage adults to provide care.
Behavioural social releasers include:
Crying.
Smiling.
Vocalising.
Grasping.
Making eye contact.
Following.
Physical characteristics may include:
A relatively large forehead.
Large eyes.
Rounded facial features.
Small body size.
These features may make infants appear vulnerable and encourage protective responses.
How social releasers support attachment
Social releasers activate caregiving behaviour.
For example:
The infant becomes distressed.
The infant cries.
The caregiver approaches.
The caregiver provides comfort.
The infant becomes calm.
Repeated interaction strengthens the relationship.
Social releasers help ensure that the caregiver remains close enough for an attachment to develop.
Crying as a social releaser
Crying is unpleasant for adults to hear and signals that the infant may need assistance.
The caregiver may respond by:
Picking up the infant.
Feeding them.
Checking for discomfort.
Offering physical reassurance.
Removing a possible danger.
The response brings caregiver and infant into close contact.
Crying is therefore not simply an indication of unhappiness. Within Bowlby’s theory, it is an evolved signal that promotes protection.
Smiling as a social releaser
Smiling encourages positive interaction.
A caregiver who receives a smile may:
Smile in return.
Speak to the infant.
Maintain eye contact.
Continue holding the infant.
Repeat the interaction later.
This helps strengthen the relationship.
Social releasers and learning theory
Both Bowlby and learning theory can explain why caregiver-infant behaviours become repeated.
However, their explanations differ.
Bowlby’s theory | Learning theory |
Social signals are biologically prepared | Behaviour develops through conditioning |
Attachment promotes survival | Attachment is associated with reward and drive reduction |
Caregiver responses are part of an evolved system | Caregiver responses reinforce infant behaviour |
Food is not the central cause of attachment | Food has a major role in cupboard love |
The approaches may not be entirely incompatible. Innate behaviours can also be strengthened or shaped by experience.
Monotropy
What is monotropy?
Monotropy is the idea that an infant forms one attachment that is more important than all their other attachments.
This relationship is sometimes called the:
Primary attachment.
Principal attachment.
Monotropic bond.
The primary attachment figure is the person who plays the most important role in the infant’s emotional development.
Monotropy does not mean only one attachment
Bowlby did not claim that infants can attach to only one person.
An infant may form attachments to:
A mother.
A father.
A grandparent.
An older sibling.
Another consistent caregiver.
However, Bowlby proposed that one of these attachments usually has special psychological importance.
The infant’s attachments can therefore be organised into a hierarchy.
At the top is the primary attachment figure, followed by other important attachment figures.
The primary attachment figure
The primary attachment figure is not automatically:
The biological mother.
The person who gives birth.
The person who provides the most food.
A female caregiver.
It is the person with whom the infant forms the most significant attachment.
The quality and consistency of interaction are likely to be important.
A father, grandparent, foster carer or another stable adult could become the primary attachment figure.
Why the primary attachment is special
According to Bowlby, the primary attachment has a particularly strong influence on:
Emotional security.
Exploration.
Expectations about caregivers.
The development of the internal working model.
Later social relationships.
Other attachments may be valuable, but they do not have exactly the same psychological influence within the theory.
A hierarchy of attachments
An infant might have the following attachment hierarchy:
Grandmother as the primary attachment figure.
Father as a strong secondary attachment figure.
Childminder as another attachment figure.
Older sibling as another familiar relationship.
The existence of several attachments does not automatically contradict monotropy.
Monotropy concerns the relative importance of one attachment.
Applying monotropy
Zara is cared for by several adults.
Her father provides most meals, but Zara seeks her grandmother when frightened, becomes most distressed when her grandmother leaves and is most easily comforted when she returns.
Bowlby’s theory would suggest that:
Zara has several caregivers.
Her grandmother appears to occupy the highest place in the attachment hierarchy.
Her grandmother is likely to be the primary attachment figure.
The attachment is not determined simply by who provides food.
Monotropy and contact comfort
The idea that attachment is not based solely on feeding is consistent with the importance of contact comfort.
Harlow’s infant monkeys preferred a soft cloth surrogate even when a wire surrogate supplied milk.
This supports the wider argument that a preferred attachment figure provides emotional security rather than only food.
The critical period
What is a critical period?
A critical period is a limited stage of development during which an attachment must form if development is to proceed normally.
Bowlby argued that humans are maximally ready to form an attachment during the first few years of life.
This period is commonly described as approximately the first two-and-a-half to three years.
If an infant does not form an attachment during this period, Bowlby proposed that:
Later attachment formation becomes much more difficult.
Emotional and social development may be affected.
The infant may not develop an adequate internal working model.
Some consequences could be long lasting.
Maximum readiness
The critical period does not simply mean that the infant is young.
It refers to a biologically prepared stage when the attachment system is especially ready to develop.
During this period:
Social releasers attract caregivers.
Proximity-seeking is strong.
The infant becomes increasingly selective.
Repeated interaction allows a stable attachment to form.
The critical-period sequence
The theory can be represented as:
The infant is born with an attachment system.
Social releasers attract caregiver responses.
Repeated interaction occurs.
A primary attachment forms during the critical period.
The relationship provides security.
An internal working model develops.
Missing the critical period
If no stable attachment figure is available, the infant may not experience:
Consistent comfort.
Predictable responses.
A dependable secure base.
A model of a close relationship.
Bowlby believed this could make later relationships more difficult.
The theory does not mean that every temporary separation prevents attachment.
The concern is a prolonged absence of an opportunity to form a stable emotional bond.
Critical period and maternal deprivation
The critical period is part of Bowlby’s monotropic theory, but it also contributes to the possible effects of prolonged early separation.
The concepts should not be confused.
The critical period concerns when an attachment should form.
Maternal deprivation concerns the disruption of an attachment or prolonged separation from the attachment figure.
A child may experience separation after already forming an attachment.
That is different from never having had the opportunity to form one.
Critical period and privation
Privation refers to the failure to form an attachment.
This can occur when an infant does not have a stable caregiver during the critical period.
It differs from deprivation, in which an attachment forms and is later disrupted.
This distinction is particularly relevant when interpreting the effects of institutional care.
Animal evidence and the critical period
Lorenz found that goslings imprinted on the first moving figure encountered shortly after hatching.
If imprinting did not occur during the early period, normal following behaviour did not develop.
This evidence for an early period in animal attachment supports the general idea that attachment-like behaviour may be biologically timed.
However, a period of only a few hours in goslings cannot be applied directly to human infants.
Human attachment develops over a longer and more flexible period.
Critical or sensitive period?
A sensitive period is a time when development occurs most easily, but later development remains possible.
This differs from a strict critical period, after which development is considered impossible or severely restricted.
Evidence that some children recover after receiving stable and responsive later care suggests that the human attachment period may be sensitive rather than completely fixed.
A balanced conclusion is:
Early attachment opportunities are highly important, but later recovery may still be possible.
Why early timing matters
The critical-period concept has important implications.
It suggests that infants benefit from:
Early placement with consistent caregivers.
Stable foster or adoptive care.
Limited changes of key worker.
Responsive care during the first years of life.
Early intervention when attachment opportunities are disrupted.
These applications do not prove every part of Bowlby’s theory, but they show its practical influence.
The internal working model
What is the internal working model?
The internal working model, or IWM, is a mental representation of relationships created from the infant’s first attachment.
It acts as a:
Blueprint.
Template.
Schema.
Set of expectations.
The model contains expectations about:
The self.
Other people.
How relationships operate.
A model of the self
The infant develops expectations about their own value.
A child whose caregiver is consistently responsive may learn:
“I am worthy of care.”
“My needs matter.”
“I can seek help.”
“I am lovable.”
A child who experiences rejection or inconsistent care may develop expectations such as:
“My needs may not be met.”
“I cannot rely on others.”
“I may be rejected.”
“I am not worthy of consistent care.”
These are not necessarily conscious thoughts.
They are underlying expectations formed through repeated experiences.
A model of other people
The child also develops expectations about caregivers and relationships.
A responsive caregiver may lead the child to expect that other people are:
Dependable.
Available.
Comforting.
Trustworthy.
Inconsistent or unresponsive care may lead the child to expect that others are:
Unreliable.
Rejecting.
Unpredictable.
Difficult to trust.
A model of relationships
The internal working model includes expectations about how relationships function.
For example:
Whether seeking comfort is effective.
Whether closeness is safe.
Whether others respond during distress.
Whether separation is temporary.
Whether conflict leads to rejection.
Whether support will be available.
The model guides how the child interprets and responds to later relationships.
How the internal working model develops
The model develops through repeated caregiver-infant interaction.
For example:
The infant cries.
The caregiver responds consistently.
The infant is comforted.
The infant learns that the caregiver is dependable.
This expectation becomes part of the internal working model.
Alternatively:
The infant seeks comfort.
The caregiver repeatedly rejects or ignores the infant.
Distress remains.
The infant learns that seeking comfort is ineffective.
This expectation contributes to a less secure model.
Caregiver responsiveness
The quality of the internal working model is influenced by the caregiver’s:
Consistency.
Availability.
Responsiveness.
Sensitivity to the infant’s signals.
Ability to provide comfort.
A responsive attachment does not require a caregiver to respond perfectly every time.
It involves a sufficiently consistent pattern from which the infant can develop dependable expectations.
The internal working model as a blueprint
A blueprint guides later construction.
Similarly, the internal working model guides later social behaviour.
The child may use it when forming relationships with:
Friends.
Teachers.
Siblings.
Romantic partners.
Their own children.
A secure model may support:
Trust.
Comfort with closeness.
Confidence in seeking help.
Expectations of mutual support.
A less secure model may contribute to:
Fear of rejection.
Difficulty trusting.
Avoidance of intimacy.
Excessive dependence.
Expectations that relationships will fail.
The influence of these early expectations is examined in detail through childhood and adult relationship experiences.
The continuity hypothesis
The continuity hypothesis is the idea that patterns established in early attachment continue into later relationships.
The proposed sequence is:
Early attachment → internal working model → expectations and behaviour in later relationships
For example:
A child experiences reliable comfort.
They develop an expectation that others are trustworthy.
They approach friendships with confidence.
Positive interactions reinforce the secure model.
Alternatively:
A child experiences inconsistent care.
They expect others to be unreliable.
They behave anxiously or defensively.
This can create difficulties that appear to confirm the original expectation.
The internal working model and parenting
Bowlby proposed that the model may also influence later parenting.
An adult may draw on early experiences when deciding:
How to respond to an infant’s distress.
Whether closeness feels comfortable.
How much support to provide.
What normal caregiving looks like.
This does not mean parenting style is permanently determined by infancy.
Later experiences, education and supportive relationships can modify expectations and behaviour.
Internal working models can differ
A child with a secure early attachment is likely to develop a more positive model.
A child with an insecure early attachment may develop a less positive model.
This prepares you for secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant patterns.
However, attachment type and internal working model are not exactly the same.
Attachment type describes observable behaviour within an attachment relationship.
The internal working model is the mental representation formed from relationship experience.
An insecure child still has an internal working model
A child with an insecure or disrupted attachment does not necessarily lack an internal working model.
Instead, they may develop a model based on:
Inconsistent care.
Rejection.
Unpredictability.
Poor treatment.
The model may therefore contain insecure expectations.
This is an important examination distinction.
Applying the internal working model
Noah’s caregiver responds consistently when he is distressed.
As Noah grows older, he feels comfortable asking friends for support and expects close relationships to be dependable.
Bowlby’s theory would explain this by proposing that:
Early responsive care created a secure attachment.
Noah developed a positive internal working model.
He sees himself as worthy of care.
He expects others to be supportive.
These expectations influence his later friendships.
Applying a less secure model
Alina’s early caregiver responded unpredictably.
Sometimes the caregiver offered comfort, but on other occasions they rejected Alina.
In later relationships, Alina becomes very worried that people will leave and repeatedly seeks reassurance.
Bowlby’s theory could explain this because:
Early care was inconsistent.
Alina developed an uncertain internal working model.
She expects relationships to be unreliable.
These expectations affect how she behaves towards other people.
A good application answer does not claim that the early experience guarantees the later behaviour.
It explains that the internal working model may influence expectations.
The complete theory
Bowlby’s theory can be summarised as one connected process:
Infants are born with an innate attachment system.
Attachment behaviours have evolved because they promote survival.
Social releasers encourage caregiver responses.
One attachment usually becomes especially important.
This monotropic attachment develops during a critical period.
The relationship provides a secure base.
Its quality produces an internal working model.
The internal working model guides later relationships.
Summary table
Feature | Explanation |
Innate attachment | Infants are biologically prepared to form attachments |
Adaptive value | Staying close to a caregiver increases survival |
Social releasers | Infant behaviours and features trigger caregiving |
Monotropy | One attachment has special importance |
Attachment hierarchy | The primary attachment is supported by other attachments |
Critical period | Attachment should form during the first few years |
Internal working model | The first attachment becomes a mental template for relationships |
Continuity | Early expectations may influence later social behaviour |
Bowlby compared with learning theory
Bowlby’s monotropic theory | Learning theory |
Attachment is biologically prepared | Attachment is learned |
Emphasises survival | Emphasises reward and drive reduction |
Social releasers attract caregiver responses | Reinforcement increases attachment behaviour |
Contact and security are important | Food has a central role |
One attachment has special importance | Attachment forms to a rewarding caregiver |
Includes a critical period | Does not require a biologically timed period |
Includes an internal working model | Focuses mainly on observable learning |
Predicts later relational continuity | Gives less explanation of later relationships |
Bowlby’s theory offers a broader account because it explains:
Why attachment exists.
Why it forms early.
Why one relationship may be especially influential.
Why early attachment may affect later development.
Learning theory is more focused on the environmental processes through which attachment behaviour is acquired.
Evaluating Bowlby’s theory
Support from animal research
Lorenz’s goslings imprinted during a limited period after hatching.
This supports:
Biological preparedness.
Rapid attachment formation.
The existence of an important early period.
Long-term effects of early experience.
Harlow’s monkeys preferred contact comfort and later showed social difficulties following abnormal early care.
This supports:
The importance of emotional security.
The inadequacy of a purely food-based explanation.
The possibility that early relationships affect later behaviour.
Together, these studies provide support for Bowlby’s biological account.
Animal evidence has limited generalisability
Animal findings cannot be transferred directly to humans.
Goslings:
Are mobile soon after hatching.
Develop imprinting extremely rapidly.
Have different social systems from humans.
Rhesus monkeys are more similar to humans but still differ in:
Language.
Culture.
Social complexity.
Family structures.
Animal evidence supports broad principles but cannot prove every feature of human monotropy.
Monotropy may underestimate multiple attachments
Infants can develop meaningful attachments to several caregivers.
These may include:
Parents.
Grandparents.
Siblings.
Childcare workers.
A strict version of monotropy may therefore underestimate the contribution of multiple relationships.
Different attachment figures may provide different benefits.
For example:
One caregiver may provide comfort.
Another may support play and exploration.
Another may provide consistent daily care.
A hierarchy can accommodate several attachments
The existence of multiple attachments does not completely disprove Bowlby.
Monotropy proposes that one relationship has special importance, not that other attachments are worthless.
A child may have several valuable attachments while still preferring one person during fear or distress.
The debate is therefore about whether the primary attachment is qualitatively more important, rather than whether multiple relationships exist.
The critical period may be too rigid
Evidence from children who receive improved later care suggests that some recovery is possible.
Children may develop:
New attachments.
Improved social behaviour.
More secure expectations.
Better emotional functioning.
This challenges the idea that missing the early period always causes irreversible harm.
A sensitive period may therefore describe human attachment more accurately.
Early care is highly influential, but development is not necessarily fixed forever.
Early timing still appears important
Although recovery is possible, earlier stable care is generally expected to offer greater developmental opportunity than much later intervention.
This means that evidence of recovery does not show that timing is irrelevant.
It suggests:
Early attachment is especially important.
Later change remains possible.
The period may be influential rather than absolute.
The internal working model explains continuity
A strength of the internal working model is that it provides a mechanism linking early and later relationships.
Without the IWM, Bowlby’s theory would state only that early attachment matters.
The model explains how it may matter:
Early care creates expectations.
Expectations guide later behaviour.
Behaviour affects new relationships.
New experiences may reinforce the model.
This gives the theory explanatory depth.
The internal working model is difficult to measure directly
An internal working model is a mental representation.
It cannot be observed directly.
Researchers must infer it from:
Attachment behaviour.
Interviews.
Questionnaires.
Later relationship patterns.
Caregiver reports.
This can make it difficult to determine whether:
The internal model caused later behaviour.
The model has been measured accurately.
Another factor explains the relationship.
The concept is useful, but less directly testable than visible attachment behaviour.
Evidence of continuity is usually correlational
Research may find an association between early attachment and later relationships.
However, a correlation does not demonstrate that the internal working model caused the later outcome.
Other variables may influence both, including:
Temperament.
Continuing family circumstances.
Parenting quality over many years.
Social opportunities.
Stressful life experiences.
Bowlby’s theory provides a plausible explanation, but causal conclusions should be cautious.
Later experiences can change the model
The internal working model should not be treated as completely permanent.
Later experiences may challenge earlier expectations.
For example:
A supportive friendship may increase trust.
A stable foster placement may provide new relational experiences.
A harmful adult relationship may weaken previously positive expectations.
Therapy may help someone reconsider relationship patterns.
The IWM is best understood as influential rather than unchangeable.
Bowlby’s theory can appear deterministic
Determinism is the idea that behaviour is caused by factors outside the person’s control.
Bowlby’s theory could be interpreted as suggesting that early attachment fixes later relationships.
This risks underestimating:
Personal choice.
Later social experiences.
Resilience.
Recovery.
Cultural influences.
However, Bowlby proposed an influence, not a guaranteed outcome.
Students should avoid statements such as:
“An insecure infant will definitely have unsuccessful adult relationships.”
A more accurate statement is:
“An insecure attachment may create expectations that increase the likelihood of later relationship difficulties.”
Social sensitivity
Bowlby’s emphasis on one primary attachment has sometimes been interpreted as placing responsibility on mothers.
This can create:
Guilt among caregivers.
Pressure for one parent to provide all care.
Negative judgements about childcare.
Blame when a child experiences later difficulties.
However, Bowlby referred to a mother or permanent mother substitute.
The primary figure does not need to be:
Female.
Biologically related.
The only caregiver.
Present every moment.
The important feature is a stable and responsive attachment.
Practical applications
Bowlby’s theory has influenced childcare by emphasising:
Continuity of care.
Stable foster placements.
Early adoption where appropriate.
Consistent key workers in institutions.
Opportunities for caregiver contact during hospital treatment.
Early support for disrupted families.
These applications are valuable because the theory has informed efforts to protect early emotional development.
Practical usefulness does not prove that every part of the theory is correct, but it increases its social value.
Applying the theory to unfamiliar scenarios
Scenario 1: several caregivers
Amir is cared for by his parents and two grandparents.
When frightened, he consistently seeks his father, although he enjoys spending time with all four adults.
Bowlby would explain that:
Amir has formed several attachments.
His father appears to be the primary attachment figure.
The father occupies the highest position in the attachment hierarchy.
This illustrates monotropy rather than attachment to only one person.
Scenario 2: infant social signals
When Layla cries, her caregiver picks her up and comforts her.
Layla also smiles during eye contact, which encourages the caregiver to continue interacting.
Bowlby would explain that:
Crying and smiling are social releasers.
These behaviours trigger caregiving responses.
Repeated interaction maintains proximity.
This supports attachment formation.
Scenario 3: early institutional care
An infant experiences frequently changing caregivers during the first three years and does not have the opportunity to form a stable bond.
Bowlby would predict that:
The child may miss an important early period for attachment.
Formation of later attachments may become more difficult.
The child may not develop a secure internal working model.
Later expectations about relationships may be affected.
However, a balanced answer should acknowledge that stable later care may allow recovery.
Scenario 4: later friendships
Mila’s early caregiver was consistently supportive.
As a teenager, Mila trusts her friends and feels comfortable seeking help.
The internal working model explains this because:
Mila’s early attachment provided a model of reliable care.
She developed positive expectations about herself and others.
These expectations guide her behaviour in friendships.
Her supportive behaviour may also encourage positive responses from friends.
Scenario 5: changed expectations
A child develops insecure expectations following inconsistent early care but later experiences a stable and responsive adoptive relationship.
The later relationship may:
Provide evidence that caregivers can be trusted.
Modify the internal working model.
Support more secure later relationships.
This illustrates why the model is influential but not necessarily permanent.
Answering examination questions
Explaining monotropic theory
A strong outline should include:
The innate basis of attachment.
Its adaptive survival value.
Social releasers.
Monotropy and the attachment hierarchy.
The critical period.
The internal working model.
The amount of detail should match the number of marks available.
Explaining the critical period
A developed answer should state:
It is an early period of maximum readiness.
Bowlby located it within approximately the first few years.
Attachment becomes more difficult if none forms during this period.
Missing the period may affect later emotional and social development.
Explaining the internal working model
A developed answer should include:
It is a mental representation or schema.
It develops from the first attachment.
It contains expectations about the self and others.
It guides future relationships.
A secure relationship is likely to produce more positive expectations.
Application structure
Use four steps:
Identify the relevant concept.
Select evidence from the scenario.
Explain the psychological process.
Predict the possible consequence.
Weak application
The child has a bad internal working model because the caregiver was inconsistent.
Stronger application
The caregiver responded inconsistently, so the child may have developed an internal working model in which other people are viewed as unreliable. This could make the child anxious about rejection in later relationships.
Avoid absolute predictions
Use:
“May”
“Is likely to”
“Could influence”
“Increases the possibility”
Avoid:
“Will definitely”
“Can never”
“Must become”
“Is permanently damaged”
Bowlby’s theory proposes developmental influence, not certainty in every individual case.
Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡
Examiner hint: Use specialist terminology accurately. Strong answers distinguish monotropy, the critical period and the internal working model rather than treating them as interchangeable ideas.
Examiner hint: An infant with an insecure or disrupted attachment does not necessarily have no internal working model. The child may develop an insecure model based on their early experiences.
Examiner hint: Describe the internal working model as a blueprint, schema or mental representation that influences expectations in later relationships.
Examiner hint: When describing the critical period, include both timing and consequence. State that infants are maximally ready to attach during the first few years and that later attachment may become more difficult if no attachment forms.
Examiner hint: Do not imply that the primary attachment figure must be the biological mother. Monotropy concerns the special importance of one stable attachment.
Examiner hint: In application questions, connect each part of the theory to evidence from the scenario. Naming the internal working model without explaining the child’s expectations is not enough.
Examiner hint: Avoid writing lengthy descriptions of studies when the question asks for an explanation of Bowlby’s theory. Select only evidence that supports or challenges the relevant concept.
AQA examiner commentary has specifically warned against saying that a child with poor early attachment develops no internal working model. The more accurate explanation is that the model reflects the child’s early experiences. The June 2024 mark scheme also described the IWM as a blueprint or schema and the critical period as a time of maximum readiness for attachment.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Saying monotropy means an infant can form only one attachment
Why this is incorrect:
Bowlby accepted that infants can form several attachments.
How to improve:
State that one attachment has special importance and sits at the top of a hierarchy.
Mistake: Assuming the primary attachment must be to the biological mother
Why this is incorrect:
The primary figure is the most important consistent caregiver and may be any gender or biological relationship.
How to improve:
Use the term primary attachment figure.
Mistake: Saying the person who feeds the infant must become the primary attachment figure
Why this is incorrect:
Bowlby emphasised emotional security and survival rather than food-based conditioning.
How to improve:
Look for who provides comfort, protection and dependable care.
Mistake: Describing social releasers as caregiver behaviours
Why this is usually incorrect:
Social releasers are primarily infant signals or features that trigger caregiving.
How to improve:
Use examples such as smiling, crying and grasping.
Mistake: Saying social releasers are deliberately manipulative
Why this is incorrect:
They are innate signals rather than conscious strategies.
How to improve:
Explain that they evolved because they encouraged protective responses.
Mistake: Saying adaptive means an infant changes their behaviour deliberately
Why this is incorrect:
In evolutionary Psychology, adaptive means that a characteristic increased survival or reproduction.
How to improve:
Link attachment to protection and natural selection.
Mistake: Confusing critical period with maternal deprivation
Why this is incorrect:
The critical period concerns when attachment forms. Maternal deprivation concerns disruption to an existing attachment.
How to improve:
Identify whether the scenario involves no attachment or later separation.
Mistake: Saying attachment becomes completely impossible after the critical period
Why this is too absolute:
Bowlby proposed that attachment becomes much more difficult, but later recovery evidence suggests some flexibility.
How to improve:
Refer to a possible sensitive period and avoid absolute language.
Mistake: Saying the critical period lasts only a few hours in humans
Why this is incorrect:
A period of a few hours applies to imprinting in goslings.
How to improve:
Bowlby’s human critical period extends across approximately the first few years.
Mistake: Saying an insecure child has no internal working model
Why this is incorrect:
The child may develop a model based on inconsistent or rejecting care.
How to improve:
Describe a secure or insecure internal working model.
Mistake: Treating the internal working model as a conscious list of rules
Why this is incorrect:
It is an underlying mental representation that guides expectations.
How to improve:
Use terms such as schema, blueprint and relationship template.
Mistake: Saying the internal working model guarantees later outcomes
Why this is incorrect:
Later experiences can reinforce or modify early expectations.
How to improve:
State that the model influences or increases the likelihood of particular relationship patterns.
Mistake: Confusing the internal working model with attachment type
Why this is incorrect:
Attachment type describes observed attachment behaviour. The IWM is the mental representation formed from the relationship.
How to improve:
Explain the link without treating the concepts as identical.
Mistake: Listing studies without using them to evaluate the theory
Why this is incomplete:
Research earns evaluative credit only when its implication is explained.
How to improve:
State whether the evidence supports biological attachment, monotropy, the critical period or the IWM.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Which one of the following best describes monotropy?
A. An infant can form only one attachment
B. One attachment has greater psychological importance than the others
C. Attachment develops only through food reinforcement
D. Every caregiver has equal importance to the infant
[1 mark]
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Answer: B. One attachment has greater psychological importance than the others
Question 2
Define a social releaser and give one example.
[2 marks]
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Mark scheme
AO1 = 2
1 mark for defining a social releaser as an innate infant behaviour or characteristic that elicits caregiving from adults.
1 mark for an appropriate example.
Indicative content
Examples include:
smiling
crying
eye contact
grasping
baby-like facial features
Example answer
A social releaser is an innate behaviour or characteristic that encourages a caregiver to respond to an infant. An example is smiling.
Question 3
Explain what Bowlby meant by the critical period for attachment.
[3 marks]
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Mark scheme
AO1 = 3
Award 1 mark each for:
A limited period early in life when an infant is especially ready to form an attachment.
According to Bowlby, this extends through approximately the first 2.5 to 3 years of life.
If an attachment is not formed during this period, forming attachments later may be much more difficult and development may be affected.
AQA's 2024 mark scheme describes the critical period as the time when an infant is maximally ready to form an attachment and gives approximately up to 3 years in humans according to Bowlby.
Example answer
Bowlby proposed that there is a critical period early in life, approximately the first three years, during which an infant is particularly ready to form an attachment. If an attachment is not formed during this period, it may be much more difficult to form attachments later.
Question 4
Maya is cared for by her father, grandmother and childminder. She enjoys interacting with all three, but when frightened she seeks her grandmother and is most easily comforted by her.
Use Bowlby’s concept of monotropy to explain Maya’s behaviour.
[4 marks]
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Mark scheme
AO2 = 4
Award 1 mark each for:
Maya can form attachments to several caregivers.
Bowlby's concept of monotropy proposes that one attachment has greater psychological importance.
Maya's grandmother appears to be her primary attachment figure.
Seeking her grandmother when frightened and being most easily comforted by her demonstrates the special importance of this attachment.
Indicative content
Monotropy allows for multiple attachments, but proposes a hierarchy in which one attachment is especially significant.
Example answer
Maya can be attached to her father, grandmother and childminder, but Bowlby's concept of monotropy suggests that one attachment will have particular psychological importance. Her grandmother appears to be this primary attachment figure because Maya seeks her when frightened and is most easily comforted by her.
Question 5
A young infant smiles and makes eye contact with a caregiver. The caregiver responds by smiling, talking and holding the infant.
Use Bowlby’s theory to explain how this interaction may support attachment formation.
[4 marks]
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Mark scheme
AO2 = 4
Award 1 mark each for:
Smiling and eye contact can act as social releasers.
These behaviours encourage the caregiver to respond.
The caregiver responds through smiling, talking and physical contact.
Repeated reciprocal interactions help maintain closeness and support the formation of an attachment.
Indicative content
Bowlby proposed that infants are biologically equipped with behaviours that increase contact with caregivers because attachment has survival value.
Example answer
The infant's smiling and eye contact act as social releasers because they encourage the caregiver to respond. The caregiver smiles, talks and holds the infant, increasing interaction and closeness between them. Bowlby argued that these innate behaviours help attachments to form because staying close to a caregiver has survival value.
Question 6
Sami’s caregiver responded consistently when he was distressed. As an older child, Sami trusts his friends and feels comfortable seeking their support.
Explain Sami’s behaviour using the internal working model.
[4 marks]
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Mark scheme
AO2 = 4
Award 1 mark each for:
Sami's early relationship with his responsive caregiver contributes to an internal working model.
The internal working model is a mental representation or blueprint of relationships.
Consistent care may produce expectations that other people are dependable and supportive.
This explains why Sami trusts friends and feels comfortable seeking their support.
Indicative content
AQA describes the internal working model as a schema or mental representation based on the first attachment that influences later relationships.
Example answer
Sami's consistently responsive caregiver may have helped him develop a positive internal working model. This provides a mental blueprint in which other people are expected to be trustworthy and supportive. Sami therefore carries these expectations into his friendships and is comfortable relying on his friends.
Question 7
A child experienced inconsistent early care. As a teenager, the child expects friends to leave and repeatedly seeks reassurance.
Explain how Bowlby’s theory could account for this behaviour. In your answer, refer to the internal working model.
[6 marks]
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Mark scheme
AO2 = 6
Award credit for clear application of Bowlby's theory and the internal working model.
Indicative content
Early attachment experiences contribute to the child's internal working model.
Inconsistent care may result in a less positive or insecure mental representation of relationships.
The child may learn that caregivers are not consistently available or dependable.
This model acts as a blueprint for later relationships.
As a teenager, the child may therefore expect friends to be unreliable or to leave.
Repeated reassurance-seeking may reflect these negative expectations about relationships.
AQA warns that children with difficult early relationships still develop an internal working model, but it may be based on those negative experiences.
Example answer
Bowlby argued that early attachment experiences create an internal working model, which acts as a blueprint for later relationships. Because the child experienced inconsistent care, they may have developed expectations that important people are unreliable or may leave. These expectations can then influence later friendships. This could explain why the teenager expects friends to abandon them and repeatedly seeks reassurance that the relationship is secure.
Question 8
A psychologist followed children from infancy to adolescence.
Quality of early attachment | Mean trust score in adolescent friendships |
More secure early attachment | 18.6 |
Less secure early attachment | 12.1 |
The maximum possible trust score was 20.
Describe the pattern shown in the results. Explain how the internal working model could account for this pattern.
[6 marks]
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Mark scheme
AO2 = 6
Award up to 3 marks for describing the results and 3 marks for explaining them.
Indicative content
Pattern
Adolescents with more secure early attachments have a higher mean trust score, 18.6.
Those with less secure early attachments score 12.1.
This is a difference of 6.5 points, suggesting more secure early attachment is associated with greater trust in later friendships.
Explanation
Secure early attachment may produce a positive internal working model.
The child develops expectations that others are reliable, supportive and trustworthy.
These expectations are carried into later friendships, producing greater trust.
Example answer
Children with more secure early attachments later have higher friendship trust scores, 18.6 compared with 12.1 for those with less secure attachments. This is a difference of 6.5 points. Bowlby's internal working model could explain this because a secure early attachment provides a positive blueprint for relationships. These children may expect other people to be trustworthy and supportive, so they show greater trust in adolescent friendships.
AQA marking guidance states that a loving and secure first attachment can produce a positive template for later relationships, whereas poor early treatment may create expectations of similar treatment from others
Question 9
Explain one way in which Bowlby’s monotropic theory differs from learning theory as an explanation of attachment.
[4 marks]
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Mark scheme
AO1 = 4
Award credit for one clear, developed comparison.
Indicative content
Bowlby's theory is an evolutionary/innate explanation of attachment.
Infants are biologically predisposed to form attachments because attachment promotes survival.
Learning theory explains attachment as learned through conditioning.
It emphasises reinforcement and the caregiver's association with food or reduction of hunger.
Bowlby therefore sees attachment as biologically programmed, whereas learning theory sees it as acquired through experience.
Example answer
Bowlby's theory argues that attachment is innate and has evolved because keeping an infant close to a caregiver increases survival. Learning theory, in contrast, argues that attachment is learned through classical and operant conditioning, with the caregiver becoming associated with food and reinforcement. Therefore, Bowlby emphasises biological programming whereas learning theory emphasises learning from experience.
Question 10
Discuss Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment. Refer to the critical period and internal working model in your answer.
[16 marks]
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