3. ATTACHMENT (Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation) Flashcards
What does “maternal deprivation” refer to?
Maternal deprivation refers to the lack of adequate nurturing for a young child due to the absence, premature loss, or neglect by their mother or primary caregiver.
What did Bowlby propose about the importance of maternal care?
Bowlby believed that continuous care from a mother (or permanent substitute) is essential for normal psychological development. Prolonged separation from this caregiver causes serious emotional and intellectual damage.
What is the difference between separation and deprivation?
Separation is when a child is physically apart from their primary attachment figure. Deprivation occurs when a child loses emotional care due to this separation. Deprivation can be avoided if alternative emotional care is provided.
What is the “critical period” according to Bowlby?
Bowlby proposed that the critical period for the effects of maternal deprivation is up to the age of 2 and a half years. Prolonged separation before this age could cause emotional disturbances, but risks remain until the age of 5.
What are the long-term consequences of maternal deprivation?
Long-term consequences include low IQ, emotional problems (e.g., depression), juvenile delinquency, and affectionless psychopathy (lack of guilt or empathy).
What did Bowlby’s ‘44 Thieves’ study aim to investigate?
The study aimed to investigate the link between maternal deprivation and affectionless psychopathy in juvenile delinquents.
What were the findings of Bowlby’s ‘44 Thieves’ study?
Bowlby found that 86% of the affectionless psychopaths had experienced extended separations from their mothers during the critical period. A higher percentage of thieves (39%) had early separations compared to the control group (4%).
What is “affectionless psychopathy”?
Affectionless psychopathy is characterized by an inability to experience guilt for one’s actions or feel empathy for others, often linked to maternal deprivation.
What is a limitation of Bowlby’s ‘44 Thieves’ study?
A limitation is researcher bias, as Bowlby conducted both the family interviews and the assessments for affectionless psychopathy, potentially influencing the results.
What is the issue with using retrospective data in Bowlby’s study?
Retrospective data could be biased due to memory distortions or social desirability, as mothers may downplay the length of separations to present themselves in a more favourable light.
What is a strength of Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis (MDH)?
One strength is that other research, such as Levy et al. (2003), showed that separation from a mother can lead to long-term developmental effects, supporting the theory.
How did Bowlby’s theory lead to practical applications?
The MDH contributed to changes in hospital practices, such as encouraging parents to visit and stay with hospitalized children, improving child care and reducing costs to social services.
What did the study by Radke-Yarrow et al. (1985) show about emotional separation?
The study found that children of severely depressed mothers were more likely to develop insecure attachments, suggesting that emotional separation (not just physical separation) can lead to maternal deprivation.
What did Lewis’ (1954) study suggest about Bowlby’s MDH?
Lewis replicated Bowlby’s ‘44 Thieves’ study with a larger sample and found little evidence linking maternal separation to criminality or relationship problems, challenging the validity of the MDH.
What is one critique of the ‘44 Thieves’ study’s methodology?
One critique is that the study is correlational, meaning it cannot establish whether maternal separation directly caused affectionless psychopathy or if another variable was responsible.
