Attachment - Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

What does maternal deprivation focus on?

Answer 1

The idea that the continual presence of care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development in young children, both emotionally and intellectually

Question 2

What is maternal deprivation?

Answer 2

The intellectual and emotional consequences of seperation between a child and his/her mother

Question 3

What does seperation mean?

Answer 3

The child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure

Question 4

When does seperation become a problem?

Answer 4

When the child is deprived of emotional care or when there are extended seperations which can lead to deprivation

Question 5

What is the critical period for psychological development?

Answer 5

2 and a half years and there is a continuing risk until age 5 if there is no attachment

Question 6

What are the 2 effects of development?

Answer 6

A reduced intellectual and emotional development

Question 7

What did William Goldfarb (1947) find?

Answer 7

Children had a lower IQ if they were in insitutions longer than children who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care

Question 8

What did Bowlby identify in relation to a reduced emotional development?

Answer 8

Affectionless psychopathy which is the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions towards others

Question 9

What does affectionless psychopathy prevent?

Answer 9

A person developing fulfilling relationships

Question 10

What is affectionless psychopathy associated with?

Answer 10

Criminality as they cannot fell remorse for their victims or actions

Question 11

What did Bowlby’s (1944) 44 thieves study examine?

Answer 11

The link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

Question 12

What was the procedure of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 12

44 thieves were assessed for affectionless psychopathy and their families were assessed to see if maternal deprivation occured

Question 13

What was the sample of the 44 thieves compared to?

Answer 13

A control group of 44 non-criminals but where emotionally disturbed

Question 14

How many out of the 44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths?

Answer 14

14

Question 15

How many out of the 14 affectionless psychopaths thieves were maternally deprived?

Answer 15

12

Question 16

How many out of the remaining 30 thieves experienced separation?

Answer 16

5

Question 17

What did Bowlby’s findings conclude?

Answer 17

That prolonged early separation/deprivation causes affectionless psychopathy

Question 17

How many out of the 44 people in the control group experienced long separations?

Answer 17

2

Question 18

What is one limitation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 18

Flawed evidence

Question 19

What is the evaluation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation having flawed evidence?

Answer 19

P: Poor quality of evidence it is based on
E: Bowlby himself carried out the interviews which lead him to bias as he knew in advance which teenagers he expected to show psychopathy
E: Goldfarb’s study has confounding variables as the children had experienced early trauma as well as prolonged separation
L: Evidence has serious flaws and wouldn’t be taken seriously as evidence nowadays

Question 20

What is another limitation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 20

Deprivation and privation

Question 21

What is the evaluation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation being linked to deprivation and privation?

Answer 21

P: Confusion between different types of early experience
E: Rutter (1981) found that deprivation is the loss of a primary attachment figure after an attachment is formed; privation is the failure to form any attachments in the first place
E: Rutter pointed out that the severe long-term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation is more likely to be privation
E: Children studied by Goldfarb would of been prived instead of deprived
L: Overestimated the serious of the effects of deprivation in child’s development

Question 22

What is a third limitation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 22

Critical VS sensitive periods

Question 23

What is the evaluation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation being linked to critical and sensitive periods?

Answer 23

P: Bowlby’s idea of critical period
E: Koluchová