Attachment - Bowlby's Theory Of Maternal Deprivation Flashcards
What is maternal deprivation?
Maternal deprivation refers to the emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother or mother substitute. Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, and prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development.
What is the distinction between separation and deprivation in Bowlby’s theory?
Separation refers to the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure, which becomes an issue if it leads to deprivation, where the child loses an element of her care. Brief separations with a substitute caregiver are not significant, but extended separations can lead to deprivation.
What is the critical period in Bowlby’s theory?
Bowlby saw the first 30 months of life as a critical period for psychological development. If a child is separated from their mother without suitable substitute care during this period, psychological damage is inevitable.
What are the two main effects of maternal deprivation on development?
Intellectual development: Prolonged deprivation of maternal care during the critical period can lead to delayed intellectual development, such as abnormally low IQ, as shown in studies like Goldfarb (1947).
Emotional development: Prolonged deprivation can result in affectionless psychopathy, characterized by an inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. This prevents the development of normal relationships and is associated with criminality.
What was Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?
Bowlby studied 44 delinquent teenagers accused of stealing. Families were interviewed to establish any early separations. The sample was compared to a control group of non-criminal emotionally disturbed young people.
What did it show?
14 of the 44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths; of these, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of life. In contrast, only 5 of the remaining thieves and 2 of the control group had experienced separations. Bowlby concluded prolonged separation caused affectionless psychopathy.
What is one evaluation point about the quality of evidence for maternal deprivation?
One limitation is that the evidence for maternal deprivation is often based on flawed studies. For instance, Bowlby’s 44 thieves study had issues such as researcher bias, as Bowlby conducted the assessments himself, knowing what he hoped to find. Additionally, studies like those on war orphans are confounded by other factors, such as poor care and trauma, which may have caused later developmental issues rather than separation itself. This reduces the internal validity of the evidence supporting Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation.
What is one evaluation point about counter-evidence for Bowlby’s theory?
Not all research supports Bowlby’s findings. For example, Lewis (1954) partially replicated the 44 thieves study on a larger scale with 500 young people and found that early prolonged separation from the mother did not predict criminality or difficulty forming relationships. This challenges Bowlby’s conclusions and suggests other factors, such as quality of substitute care, may play a more significant role than maternal deprivation in determining outcomes.
What is one evaluation point about the critical period in Bowlby’s theory?
Bowlby proposed that damage from maternal deprivation during the critical period is inevitable, but later research shows that this period may be sensitive rather than critical. For example, Koluchová (1976) studied twin boys isolated from 18 months to 7 years who later recovered fully when placed in a loving environment. This demonstrates that severe deprivation may not always lead to irreversible damage, limiting the universality of Bowlby’s theory.
What is one evaluation point about animal studies supporting Bowlby’s theory?
Support for Bowlby’s theory comes from animal studies. For instance, Levy et al. (2003) showed that separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had a permanent effect on their social development. These findings suggest that maternal deprivation has long-term effects, even in non-human species, and strengthen the validity of Bowlby’s conclusions about the role of maternal care in development.
