17. Bowlby's Theory Of Maternal Deprivation AO1 Flashcards
What did Bowlby say to be essential?
Continuous emotional care from mother or mother substitute is necessary for normal emotional and intellectual development
What did Bowlby believe to be extremely important
Motherly love in infancy is as important for mental health as vitamins and proteins are for physical health
What is separation?
Separation means the child not being physically in the presence of the primary attachment figure
What is deprivation?
Deprivation means losing emotional power as a result of separation
How can deprivation be avoided?
If alternative emotional care is offered meaning separation doesn’t always cause deprivation
What did Bowlby believe could lead to maternal deprivation?
Separation from mother
How long is a child’s critical period
Critical period of 30 months
What can happen if separation occurs in critical period
if a child is separated from their mother - extended amount of time - during critical period - with no substitute - psychological damage is inevitable
What did Bowlby suggest about a child’s intellectual development?
Deprivation lowers a persons IQ
What leads to a child’s IQ being lowered
if a child is deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period - suffer mental retardation and abnormally low IQ
What did Bowlby suggest about a child’s emotional development?
Deprivation is linked to affectionless psychopathy, lack of emotional care may also lead to affectionless psychopathy.
What is affectionless psychopathy?
The inability to experience guilt or strong emotions for others
What does affectionless psychopathy prevent?
Stops a person developing normal relationships and is often associated with criminality
What sample of participants did Bowlby use?
The sample industry was 44 delinquent teenagers accused of stealing
What did Bowlby do to establish his participants upbringing?
Families were also interviewed to establish any prolonged separation from mothers
