Canalization

Canalization, in the field of genetics, refers to how the same phenotypes are produced by a genotype even though the environment may differ. In developmental psychology, canalization was introduced by John Bowlby in regards to attachment styles. He proposed that attachments are heavily canonized - this means that the inborn systems and mechanisms that allow a child to develop an attachment to a caregiver are there even if children are exposed to differing environments and situations. The specific way an attachment is formed depends on the environment or the situation but the ability to do so at a basic level is canalization.