bowlby Flashcards
what theory is it
psychodynamic and individualistic
what is bowlbys theory
maternal deprivation, child bee a stable home environment to progress to the reality principle
what is the AIM in 44 juvenile theirves
to test the maternal deprivation hypothesis
what is the PROCEDURE in 44 juvenile theirves
- to compare 44 juvenile thieves with a matched control group of non criminals.
- conducted interviews with families in his clinic
- asked about early experiences
- ages ranged from 5-16
- presumed thieves lacked a social conscious
what did bowlby FIND in 44 juvenile theirves
86% of affectionless children had before the age of 2 been separated from their mothers in early childhood through being in care or hospital, some displayed and affectionless character
what was BOWLBYS conclusion in 44 juvenile thieves
bowlby termed this ‘affectionless psychopathy’ where maternal deprivation occurred, people where more likely to be criminal and less likely to care for others
STRENGTH: what supported bowlbys theory
44 juvenile thieves this is a strength because:
- in depth qualitative interviews provide valid evidence of 86% of the affectionless children had expirenced maternal deprivation before the critical period
- provide evidence of the theory
STRENGTH: what has psychodynamic theory’s highlighted
how childhood expirences and trauma can impact on future behaviour
large percentage of prising population has experienced some form of trauma in childhood
WEAKNESS: how can 44 juvenile thieves be criticised, link to GRAVE
- interviews where retrospective (looking into the past) - unreliable as people don’t always recollect past correctly
- study didn’t prove that maternal deprivation caused crime, could’ve been other experiences such as biological
WEAKNESS: how did simmons and putwain critique it
that the links between maternal deprivation and criminality is no longer widely accepted
