bowlby-maternal deprivation

Question 1

what are the 3 sections of bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 1

•separation versus deprivation
•the critical period
•effects on development

Question 2

what is maternal deprivation?

Answer 2

the emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother substitute. Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development and that prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development.

Question 3

separation vs deprivation

Answer 3

separation simply means the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure, this only becomes an issue for development if the child is deprived (they lose an element of her care). brief separation is not significant for development but extended separations can lead to deprivation, which causes harm

Question 4

the critical period:

Answer 4

Bowlby saw the first 30 months as a critical period for psychological development. if the child is separated from their mother and in the absence of suitable substitutes care, being deprived of her emotional care for an extended period of time during this critical period is believed to lead to inevitable psychological damage

Question 5

what are the intellectual effects of maternal deprivation on development?

Answer 5

Bowlby believed that if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period then they would suffer intellectual delay (mental retardation) which is characterised by an abnormally low IQ. this has been demonstrated in studies of adoption. Goldfarb found lower IQ in children who has remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered- as the fostered children had a higher standard of emotional care

Question 6

what did Goldfarb find?

Answer 6

Goldfarb found lower IQ in children who has remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered- as the fostered children had a higher standard of emotional care

Question 7

how does maternal deprivation affect emotional development?

Answer 7

Bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. this prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality. affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions. being deprived of a mother figures emotional care effects the child’s emotional development.

Question 8

2 effects of maternal deprivation

Answer 8

intellectual delay
affectionless psychopathy

Question 9

what was the aim of bowlbys 44 thieves study?

Answer 9

to examine the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

Question 10

what was the procedure of bowlbys 44 thieves study?

Answer 10

•the sample consisted of 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing
•all ‘thieves’ were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy characterised as
-lack of affection
-lack of guilt about their actions
-lack of empathy for their victims
•their families were also interviewed in order to establish whether the ‘thieves’ had prolonged early separations to their mothers
•a control group of non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people was set up to see how often maternal separation/ deprivation occurred in the children who were not thieves

Question 11

how many participants were in the 44 thieves study?

Answer 11

44

Question 12

what were the findings of Bowlbys 44 thieves study?

Answer 12

•Bowlby found that 14 of the 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths
•of this 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives.
•i’m contrast, only 5 of the remaining 30 ‘thieves’ has experienced separations

Question 13

what were the conclusions of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

Answer 13

that prolonged early separation/ deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy

Question 14

44 thieves study
how many of the 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths?

Answer 14

14

Question 15

how many of the 14 ‘affectionless psychopathy’ thieves had experienced maternal deprivation?

Answer 15

12

Question 16

how many of the remaining 30 thieves had experienced maternal deprivation?

Answer 16

5

Question 17

evaluation points for Bowlby’s 44 thieves study

Answer 17

•researcher bias
•bias from family interviews
•interview relies on memory

Question 18

Evaluation points for bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 18

limitation: the evidence may be poor
limitation: counter- evidence
limitation: the ‘critical period’ is actually more of a ‘sensitive period’

Question 19

limitation: evidence may be poor

Answer 19

•Bowlby drew on a number of sources for evidence including children orphaned during the second world war, those growing up in poor quality orphanages and his 44 thieves study
•these are flawed as evidence as war-orphans were traumatised and often had poor after-care, as well as other orphans lacking in many aspects of care (not just maternal), which may have been the cause of later developmental issues rather than the separation
•the 44 thieves study also has some design flaws as Bowlby himself carried out the assessments and interviews, knowing what he hoped to find

Question 20

limitation: counter-evidence

Answer 20

•not all research has supported Bowlby’s original findings, for example Hilda Lewis replicated the 44 thieves study on a larger scale (500)
•In her study, a history of prolonged separation from the mother did not predict criminality or a difficulty forming close relationships
•this suggests other factors may affect the outcome of early maternal deprivation

Question 21

how many participants did Hilda Lewis use in her larger 44 thieves study?

Answer 21

500

Question 22

limitation: the ‘critical period’ is more of a ‘sensitive period’

Answer 22

•Bowlby believed that prolonged separation inevitably caused damage if it took place within the critical period
•later research has shown damage is not inevitable and can have good outcomes if the child has support and social interactions
•for example, Koluchovà reported the case of twin boys who were isolated from 18 months to 7 years old. subsequently they were looked after by loving adults and appeared to recover fully
•this shows that the ‘critical period’ may be ‘sensitive’ but not critical

Question 23

what did Koluchovà find?

Answer 23

Koluchovà reported the case of twin boys who were isolated from 18 months to 7 years old. subsequently they were looked after by loving adults and appeared to recover fully

Question 24

strength: Harlows monkeys

Answer 24

the monkeys in the study that were deprived of their mothers maternal care went on to become aggressive and some even ate their own offspring

Question 25

two research findings that have challenged Bowlbys claims

Answer 25

•Lewis conducted a larger study, yet found no link between maternal deprivation and criminal behaviour
•Koluchovà- twin boys were isolated from 18 months to 7 years old (so were deprived of their mothers care during the critical period) and then went on to recover fully and showed normal levels of intellectual development