Attachment Booklet 6: Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation Flashcards
Why did Bowlby create the theory of maternal deprivation?
He believed that the continual presence of nurture from a strongly attached mother was essential for psychological, intellectual, emotional and social development of babies
What is maternal deprivation?
Bowlby described this as prolonged separation of mother and baby/toddler that could result in serious long-lasting problems in child development
What is the acronym remembered for maternal deprivation?
MCI / PIE
What does MCI represent ?
The three things Bowlby argues not having is maternal deprivation and has consequences that are irreversible
What does MCI stand for?
Monotropy
Critical Period
Internal Working Model
What does PIE represent?
The effects of maternal deprivation (the consequences)
Explain what the P in PIE means
Problems with attachment - Without an IWM there is no blueprint for future relationship which means child is not able to make future attachments and relationships
Explain what the I in PIE means
Intellectual development- Bowlby believes children suffering deprivation during critical period would suffer “delayed intellectual development”, an abnormally low IQ
Explain what the E in PIE means
Emotional development - Maternal deprivation during critical period can result in the child becoming an “affectionless psychopath”
What is an affectionless psychopath?
It’s the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others, preventing the person developing relationships and predisposing them to a life of crime, as they can’t feel remorse
What key study is used for maternal deprivation?
The 44 Juvenile Thieves by Bowlby
What was the Aim of The 44 Juvenile Thieves by Bowlby?
To investigate an opportunity sample of 88 children attending his clinic
What was the procedure of the 44 Juvenile Thieves by Bowlby?
-Selected an opportunity sample of 88 children attending his clinic
-Group 1- Thief group 44 teens who stole
-Group 2- Contorl group 44 teens who were referred to him for emotional problems
-The two groups were matched for age and IQ, children and their parents were interviewed and tested by Bowlby
What was the findings of Bowbly’s 44 Juvenile Thieves?
Thief Group: 14 children from the theft group identified as affectionless psychopaths, 12 of these had experience prolonged separation of more than six months in critical period, only 5 of the remaining 30 thieves not classified as affectionless psychopaths had experienced prolonged childhood separation
Control Group: Only 2 had experienced prolonged separations, none were affectionless psychopaths
What does Bowlby’s study tell us?
Maternal deprivation during critical period effects someones emotional development and is more likely to result in someone becoming an affectionless psychopath
