Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

what year id Bowlby do this?

Answer 1

1951

Question 2

what is continued emotional care from the mother needed for?

Answer 2

emotional and intellectual development

Question 3

what is separation?

Answer 3

not having an attachment figure

Question 4

what is deprivation?

Answer 4

loss of emotion because of separation

Question 5

what is the critical period?

Answer 5

30 months where the baby shouldn’t be away from the mother for long

Question 6

what can maternal deprivation cause?

Answer 6

mental retardation (Goldfarb 1947)

Question 7

what can lack of emotional care cause?

Answer 7

affection less psychopathy (no guilt or emotion, and bad relationships

Question 8

44 thieves study:

aim of the study?

Answer 8

• in 1944 bowl by studied 44 teen thieves to see if maternal deprivation was a cause of affection less psychopathy

Question 9

44 thieves study:

procedure of the study?

Answer 9

• parents were interviewed to see if there had been prolonged separation from mother
• thieves interviewed to see if they had affection less psychopathy (no guilt or affection)

Question 10

44 thieves study:

findings of the study?

Answer 10

• 14/44 had affection-less psychopathy
• 12 of these experienced separation as a baby
• in contrast only 5 out of remaining 30 had early separation

Question 11

negative evaluation:

counter-evidence which does not support Bowlby’s findings

Answer 11

• Lewis (54) partially replicated 44 theives study on large scale - 500 young people
• early prolonged separation didn’t predict criminality or difficulty forming relationships
• suggests other factors may affect the outcome of early maternal separation

Question 12

negative evaluation:

later research suggests the critical period is more of a sensitive period

Answer 12

• Koluchova’s (76) case study of Czech twin boys from 18 months who were locked in cupboard then cared for by 2 loving adults and fully recovered
• severe deprivation can be overcome if the child has good after-care
• shows that critical period made by Bowlby may be sensitive but not critical

Question 13

positive evaluation:

animal studues have demonstrated maternal deprivation

Answer 13

• most are critical of matrnal deprivation theory, but some research shows MD can have long lasting effects
• Levy (2003) showed separting baby rats from mothers for a day can hve long lasting effects on development
• animal studies hard to genrralise to humans