attachment - Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

what is the basis of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 1

continual presence of care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development

separation from a mother in early childhood has serious consequences

Question 2

what is maternal deprivation?

Answer 2

prolonged separation from mother/primary attachment figure

causes harm

Question 3

what is the critical period for maternal deprivation?

Answer 3

first two and a half years of life

experiencing maternal deprivation during this period causes inevitable psychological damage

Question 4

how does MD affect intellectual development?

Answer 4

delayed intellectual development, characterised by abnormally low IQ

Goldfarb (1947) - lower IQ in children who remained in institutions compared to those who were fostered

Question 5

how does MD affect emotional development

Answer 5

leads to affectionless psychopathy

Question 6

what is affectionless psychopathy?

Answer 6

inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others

prevents a person from developing fulfilling relationships

associated with criminality

Question 7

Bowlby (1944) - procedure

Answer 7

examined link between AP and MD

4 teenagers accused of stealing interviewed for signs of AP, and their families interviewed to establish whether they’d experiences early MD

compared to control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people

Question 8

Bowlby (1944) - findings

Answer 8

14/44 described as affectionless psychopaths, 12 of whom experienced maternal deprivation in the first 2 years of life

Question 9

Bowlby (1944) - conclusion

Answer 9

early deprivation causes affectionless psychopathy

Question 10

limitation - flawed evidence

Answer 10

Bowlby conducted the interviews and assessments himself - open to bias

Bowlby was influenced By Goldfarb’s study which has problems of confounding variables

counterpoint - supporting evidence from Levy et al (2003)’s study on deprivation in rats

Question 11

limitation - privation

Answer 11

Rutter (1981) drew distinction between deprivation and privation suggested the long-term damage described by Bowlby is more likely to be the result of privation

Question 12

limitation - damage overcome

Answer 12

case of Czech twins who experienced serious abuse during critical period, but received excellent care during teens and recovered fully
- sensitive rather than critical period