Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation

Question 1

what did Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation focus on?

Answer 1

the idea that the continual presence of care from a mother or a substitute mother is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers both emotionally and intellectually

Question 2

what does being separated from your mother in early childhood have?

Answer 2

serious consequences

Question 3

what does separation mean?

Answer 3

the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure

Question 4

when does separation become a problem?

Answer 4

if the child becomes deprived of emotional care

Question 5

what are brief separations not?

Answer 5

significant particularly where the child is with a substitute caregiver who can provide emotional care

Question 6

what are brief separations not significant for?

Answer 6

development

Question 7

what can extended separations lead to?

Answer 7

deprivation which causes harm

Question 8

what did Bowlby see as the critical period for psychological development ?

Answer 8

the first two-and-a-half years of life

Question 9

what would happen if a child was separated from their mother and in absence of suitable substitute care and so deprived of emotional care for an extended duration during the critical period?

Answer 9

psychological damage would be inevitable
Bowlby also believed there was a continuing risk up to 5

Question 10

what are the two ways in which maternal deprivation affects children?

Answer 10

intellectual development
emotional development

Question 11

what did Bowlby believe happened when a child was deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period?

Answer 11

they would experience delayed intellectual development characterised by abnormally low IQ

Question 12

William Goldfarb

Answer 12

found lower IQ in children who remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care

Question 13

what did Bowlby identify affectionless psychopathy as?

Answer 13

the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others

Question 14

what does affectionless psychopathy prevent?

Answer 14

a person developing normal relationships associated with criminality

Question 15

what can’t affectionless psychopaths apprectiate?

Answer 15

the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions

Question 16

what did Bowlby’s 44 thieves study link between?

Answer 16

affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

Question 17

procedure for the 44 thieves study

Answer 17

1. sample study consisted of 44 criminal teens accused of stealing
2. all were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
3. families were interviewed to establish wether the thieves had prolonged early seperations from their mothers
4. sample was compared to a control group of 44 emotionally-disturbed teens

Question 18

findings of the 44 thieves study

Answer 18

1. Bowlby found that 14 of 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths
2. 12 of these experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first 2 years of their life
3. however only 5 of the remaining 30 had experienced separations
4. only two ppts in the control group of 44 experienced long separations

Question 19

what did Bowlby conclude from the thieves study?

Answer 19

prolonged early separation/ deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy

Question 20

what are the limitations of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 20

1. flawed evidence - poor quality of evidence that it is based on
   because Bowlby carried out both family interviews so he was open to bias
2. deprivation and privation - confusion between different types of early experience
3. critical versus sensitive periods - Bowlby’s idea of a critical period - evidence suggests good quality after care can prevent most or all of this