9. Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation Flashcards
Who proposed the theory of maternal deprivation
John Bowlby (1951)
Outline Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
John Bowlby (1951) proposed that prolonged emotional deprivation would have long term consequences for healthy child development.
This theory focused on idea that the continual presence of nurture from a mother is essential for normal psychological development of infants both emotionally and intellectually.
B argued that brief separations with the caregiver will not have a significant impact on the child’s development but extended separations can lead to deprivation which can cause harm.
B saw the time from 6 months to 2 1/2 years as a critical period for psychological development.
If a child is separated from their mother in the absence of suitable substitute care and so deprived of her emotional care for an extended period of time, psychological damage is inevitable. This damage may be intellectual, emotional or both.
Outline Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: intellectual damage
in terms of intellectual damage:
- B believed if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would suffer mental retardation characterised by an abnormally low IQ.
- Goldfarb (1947) found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to children who were fostered
Outline Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: emotional damage
in terms of emotional damage:
- B identified affectionless psychopathy as one effect of maternal deprivation whereby the individual has an inability to experience guilt or strong emotions for others
- this prevents a person from developing normal social relationships and is associative with criminality
- affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions
Evaluate Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: Strengths
P: Support from Bowlby’s 44 thieves study (1944)
E: interviewed 44 teenagers accused of stealing and their families and compared them to a control group of non-criminal young people
E: found taht 14 out of 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths and out of this 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives (compared to none of the control group)
L: suggests prolonged separation (deprivation) can cause emotional damage such as affectionless psychopathy
P: support for effects of maternal deprivation from case study of Genie
E: locked in a room by father until she was 13 1/2 (bc he thought she was retarded)
E: when she was found she was severely physically underdeveloped and couldn’t stand or talk. she never fully recovered, only ever learnt a few words and didn’t form strong attachments
L: supports Bowlby’s conclusion that maternal deprivation does have permanent effects on intellectual and emotional development
E: although, it may be that Genie was retarded meaning that show would have never functioned ‘normally’ anyway
Evaluate Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: Limitations
P: researchers have criticised the idea of a critical period
E: Rutter at al (1990) found that, although it may appear less likely that attachments will form after this period, it is not impossible.
E: concluded that a more accurate term to describe this period is a ‘sensitive period’ to reflect the fact that although it is an important window of time in which children are most likely to form an attachment, such bonds can still be formed outside this window
L: Bowlby’s theory may be overly negative about the chances of healthy development following early deprivation
P: evidence against from case study is the Czech twins
E: locked up for 7 years, when discovered they couldn’t talk
E: subsequently looked after by two loving sisters and by 14 they had near normal intellectual and social functioning. By 20 they were above average intelligence and had formed strong attachments
L: effects of privation may not be permanent and are in fact reversible
P: negative impact on society and the economy
E: caused fear about the possible effects of mothers not spending adequate time with their children (eg by having a career), may have led to women being prevented from having the same career opportunities as men
E: eg, women have been socially disadvantaged as a result of this theory and been prevented from contributing to the economy through their career
L: prevented talented women from contributing to society and the economy by restricting their opportunities and encouraging gender inequality
E: seen as socially sensitive
