Bowlby's Theory of Maternal Deprivation

Question 1

what is deprivation?

Answer 1

the loss of emotional care that is normally provided by a primary caregiver

Question 2

what is separation?

Answer 2

the child is temporarily not in the primary caregiver’s presence

Question 3

what is the critical period for humans?

Answer 3

between birth to 2 and a half years

Question 4

what are the effects of maternal deprivation on intellectual development?

Answer 4

abnormally low IQ

Question 5

what are the effects of maternal deprivation on emotional development?

Answer 5

• affectionless psychopathy: an inability to experience guilt for their actions or empathy for others
• associated with criminality

Question 6

what is privation?

Answer 6

the failure to form an attachment in the first place

Question 7

what was the procedure for Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

Answer 7

• 44 teenage delinquents (accused of stealing)
• the thieves were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
• families were also interviewed to establish if there was prolonged early separation from their mothers
• control group: 44 non-criminal teenagers with emotional problems

Question 8

what were the results for Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

Answer 8

• 14/44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths
• 12/14 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their life
• out of 30 who weren’t affectionless psychopaths, only 5 suffered separation from their mothers
• only 2 out of the 44 controls had suffered deprivation

Question 9

what was the conclusion for Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

Answer 9

early deprivation leads to affectionless psychopathy