bowlbys maternal deprivation Flashcards
what is Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation?
the theory claims that the continual presence of care from a mother/mothers substitute is fundamentally important if the child is going to experience normal psychological development, both emotionally and intellectually
what did Bowlby say about a mothers love?
Bowlby said that ‘Mothers-love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health
what does Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory suggest about breaking the maternal bond?
by breaking the maternal bond (and thus depriving the child of emotional care) with the child during the early years of its life (the critical period) is likely have serious effects
how does maternal deprivation negatively effect the child’s intellectual development?
Bowlby believed that if children were deprived from maternal care for too long during the critical period they would experience delayed intellectual development (low IQ).
William Goldfarb (1947) found that lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care.
how does maternal deprivation negatively effect the child’s emotional development?
Bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions towards others. this prevents a person developing fulfilling relationships as is associated with criminality. affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions.
what did Bowlby suggest about many of the effects of maternal deprivation?
many effects are permanent and irreversible
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation?
One strength to Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation is that it has supporting evidence. For example Bowlby carried out the 44 thieves study in which he interviewed the thieves for a lack of affection, guilt about their actions and empathy towards their victims. He also interviewed their families to see if they experienced prolonged separation from their maternal figure within the critical period and he carried out a control group of non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young children to see how often maternal deprivation occurred in young children. He found that 14/44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths and 12/14 experienced prolonged separation from their mothers, 5/30 also experienced prolonged separation and 2/44 of the control group. Therefore, this supports the idea that prolonged separation from the mother within the childs first 2 years of their life can have a detrimental impact on the child and can have an effect on a child developing affectionless psychopathy.
AO3: how is ‘real life application’ a strength to Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation?
One strength to Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation is that it can be applied in real life. This means that by understanding the impact of maternal relationships and a childs later development, childcare practices have been positively impacted and improved to accommodate these findings. For example, post war hospital care had a massive change after Bowlbys research. This is because children were seperated from their parents whilst in hospital and parents were discouraged or even forbidden to visit their children. Robertson filmed a 2 year old during her 8 day stay in a hospital on her own and saw that she was frequently distressed and regularly begged to go home to her family. Therefore, Bowlbys research into maternal deprivation has positively impacted the changes in which children are looked after in institutions over the past 80 years.
AO3: how is ‘flawed evidence’ a limitation to bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation?
One limitation to Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation is that its based upon flawed evidence. This is because Bowlby based this theory upon his own research meaning there is researcher bias as he knew in advance which teenagers he expected to show signs of affectionless psychopathy. He also based much of his theory upon Goldfarbs research into the development of children during the wartime in orphanages. However, this study has many confounding variables and was based upon early trauma in institutionalised care meaning this evidence is flawed and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Therefore, Bowlbys theory lacks reliability and validity and we should be very careful when using the findings of the study as it may not be taken seriously.
AO3: how is ‘sensitive rather than critical period’ a limitation to Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation?
some research has shown that damage is not inevitable and irreversible, even in some cases of severe deprivation.
for example, in Koluchovas case study of the Czech twins who were physically and emotionally abused from the ages 18 months-7 years. although they were damaged emotionally quite severely by their experience. they experienced excellent care and by their teens they were fully recovered.
this means that lasting harm is not inevitable, even in cases of severe privation. the ‘critical period’ is therefore better seen as a ‘sensitive period’.
