3.4 Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory

Question 1

Monotropy:

Answer 1

Infants form a single unique attachment bond between an infant and a mother

Question 2

Maternal deprivation

Answer 2

Not receiving suitable emotional care from a maternal figure

Question 3

Critical period

Answer 3

Suitable emotional care by mother before the age of 2.5 years is essential for healthy emotional development

Question 4

Critical period risk

Answer 4

Continues up to 5 years

Question 5

Deprivation consequences are

Answer 5

Irreversibility

Negagative consequences due to deprivation are permanent

Question 6

Value of maternal care

Answer 6

Bowlby believed that it wasn’t enough to make sure a child was fed, kept safe and warm

Infants + kids need warm and intimate and continuous relationship with their mother to ensure continuing normal mental health

Question 7

Long teen consequences of deprivation

Answer 7

• deliquincy and aggressiveness (social development)
• reduced intelligence (cognitive development)
• depression (psychological development
• affectionless psychopathy (emotional / psychological development)

Question 8

Affectionless psychopathy

Answer 8

• lack of emotion
• lack of guilt
• impulsive
• inability to form meaningful and lasting relationships
• associsted with criminality

Question 9

Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves 1944: aim

Answer 9

To determine whether there is a relationship between maternal deprivation in infancy and adolescent delinquency (affectionless psychopathy)

Question 10

Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves 1944: Procedure

Answer 10

• 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing
• all thieves interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
• family interviewed to establish whether thieves had prolonged separations from their mothers
• sample was compared to a control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people

Question 11

Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves 1944: findings

Answer 11

14 affectionless psychopaths: 86% 12 had experiences prolonged periods of separation from their mothers

30 non ‘affectionless psychopaths’: 17% 5 had experiences separations from their mothers

Emotional difficulties (NOT psychopath): 4% 2 had experiences foe their mothers

Question 12

Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves 1944: conclusion

Answer 12

Maternal deprivation in infant leads to emotional and behavioural disorders (affectionless psychopathy)

Most severe form leads to antisocial and criminal behaviour in adolescence

Question 13

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: Real world application

Answer 13

-in 1950s only 25% of hospitals allowed daily visitors

Today parents can stay overnight thanks to this research

Question 14

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: poor quality of evidence

Answer 14

• Bowlby sampled the kids from his own clinic himself
• Bowlby conducted intwevws himself
  = investigator bias ~ Bowlby knew in advance which teenagers he expected to show signs of psychopathy

Recent replicas of bowlbys study failed to produce results

Likely that Bowlbys findings exaggerate the relationship between maternal deprivation and affectionless psychopathy ~ overstating effects of maternal deprivation

Question 15

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: deprivation vs privation

Answer 15

Privation: failure to form any attachment in first place
Deprivation: loss of primary attachment figure after attachment has taken place

Rutter argues long term effects Bowlby associated with deprivation were actually caused by privation
~ 44 thieves had disrupted early lives and may never formed strong attachments

Bowlby may have overestimated the seriousness of the effects of deprivation in childrens development

Question 16

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: contradictory evidence

Answer 16

Koluchova (1976)

• Twin boys who were isolated
  from age of 18 months – 7 years
  • Step-mother kept them in a locked cupboard
  • Taken into care and looked after by two loving adults
  • Evidence suggested a full intellectual and emotional recovery given good quality aftercare
  • Critical period better seen as ‘sensitive period’

Question 17

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: socially sensitive

Answer 17

• End of WW2 ~ women have freedom and can work - Bowlby says its damaging their children
  
  • Blaming mothers for children’s issues
  • Implying mothers should be constantly with their children + not go back to work or leave kids in daycare ~ guilt
  • Neglecting role of father in child’s upbringing
    ○ Role of the father isn’t as significant as the mother
    ○ No blame goes on father

Provide temporary homes for parents