Bowlby's 44 thieves

Question 1

What was Bowlby’s 44 thieves?

Answer 1

44 thieves were compared with 44 non-thieves from a delinquency centre

Question 2

How did Bowlby collect his data for the 44 thieves?

Answer 2

Via interviews and questionnaires

Question 3

What were the findings from Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

Answer 3

• 17/44 thieves had experienced early prolonged separation from their mothers before 5 years old
• 15/17 of those thieves were classed as affectionless psychopaths
• Only 2/44 non-thieves had experienced early prolonged separation from their mothers before 5 years old

Question 4

What do the findings from Bowlby’s 44 thieves study show?

Answer 4

These findings support the maternal deprivation hypothesis, as there appears to be a link between disruption to attachments in the first 5 years and later maladjustment

Question 5

What did Bowlby’s subsequent research show?

Answer 5

Reported that 60 children who had spent time apart from their mothers due to tuberculosis prior to the age of 4, demonstrated lower achievement at school

Question 6

What do the findings from both of Bowlby’s research studies show?

Answer 6

The findings indicate that experiencing disrupted attachments early in life is linked to crime, emotional maladjustment and lower academic achievement, lending strong support for the maternal deprivation hypothesis

Question 7

What is a strength of Bowlby’s 44 thieves research?

Answer 7

Practical applications

Question 8

What are weaknesses of Bowlby’s 44 thieves research?

Answer 8

• Retrospective recall might be inaccurate
• Investigator effects
• Conclusions and correlations
• Oversimplified concept