Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

What does Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation propose?

Answer 1

• Proposes that the continual presence and care from a mother is essential for infant’s emotional, intellectual and psychological development (brief separations are insignificant, extended separations can lead to deprivation)
• Proposed if attachment is disrupted within a critical period of approximately 2.5 years, may lead to irreversible consequences for infants

Question 2

What are the consequences for an infant who hasn’t had an attachment within the critical period?

Answer 2

• Low IQ (Can’t keep up in school)
• Affectionless psychopathy (Has little regard for the feelings of others, can’t form normal relationships, increased likelihood of delinquency due to lack of guilt)
• Poor internal working model (Experiences difficulties in forming or maintaining relationships and may not be a good parent in the future)

Question 3

Outline one strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 3

• Received supporting evidence
• Bowlby’s 44 Juvenile thieves study
• Interviewed 44 Juvenile thieves for signs of affectionless psychopathy
• Families interviewed to see if the thieves had prolonged early separations from mothers
• Control group of 44 innocent but emotionally disturbed young people to see how often maternal deprivation occurred in children not thieves
• 14 out of 44 thieves affectionless psychopaths
• 12 of 14 experienced maternal deprivation in first 2 years of life
• Contrastingly, 5 of remaining 30 thieves and 2 of 44 control group experienced deprivation
• Strength because findings support a link between deprivation and affectionless psychopathy
• Therefore adds credibility to Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Question 4

Outline one limitation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 4

Continuation from one strength
- However, one limitation Is that supporting evidence criticised for being at risk of researcher bias
- 44 juvenile thieves study conducted by Bowlby himself
- Bowlby may have interpreted findings in a way that favours the assumptions of his theory
- Therefore questions the validity of supporting evidence and questions crediiblity of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Question 5

Outline the final strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 5

• Led to practical applications
• Hospitals allow parents to stay with their infants who may be hospitalised for long periods so not deprived of attachment
• Day care practices now avoid having large number of carers for each child
• Each child given a key worker who acts as a substitute for primary caregiver so do not lose an element of their care
• Strength since changes in practices resulted in improvements in emotional and social wellbeing of infants
• Therefore adds credibility

Question 6

Outline final limitation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 6

• Proposed to be founded on innacurate use and understanding of terminology
• Bowlby is claimed to have confused deprivation (disruption of attachment) with privation (failure to form attachment)
• Limitation because proposed that severe long term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation is more likely to be a result of privation
• Such effects of privation can be seen in Harlow’s research whereby monkeys raised in isolation were later found to have social and emotional disturbances
• Therefore questions the validity