Bowlbys Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis

Question 1

What does the Bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis propose

Answer 1

Proposes what occurs when an infant fails to form an attachment by the critical period

Question 2

How long is the human critical period

Answer 2

2.5 years from birth

Question 3

What are the consequences of maternal deprivation

Answer 3

Delinquency, affectionless psychopathy, emotionally disturbed, low IQ

Question 4

Who researched delayed intellectual development in orphans

Answer 4

Goldfarb (1947)
He found that orphans had lower IQs in orphanages compared to those who were fostered and had emotional care

Question 5

What does failure to form a monotropic bond by the critical period result in later lifd

Answer 5

Irreversible changes as a result of deprivation affecting the internal working model and lead to consequences that may lead to issues in later adulthood to form relationships

Question 6

What is an internal working model

Answer 6

is a mental representation of our relationship with our primary caregiver that becomes a template for future relationships

Question 7

What was the research that supported bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis

Answer 7

Bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves (1944)

Question 8

What was the aim of Bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves (1944) study into maternal deprivation

Answer 8

To test the maternal deprivation hypothesis

Question 9

What was the procedure of Bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves (1944) study into maternal deprivation

Answer 9

Sample: 88 children between ages 5 and 16 who had been referred to a child guidance clinic

• bowlby interviewed the children and their families and built up their early life experiences
  This was to look for signs of affectionless psychopathy and to establish if there was prolonged separation from the mother
• 44 adds referred due to stealing, 16 identified to be affectionless psychopaths
• the other 44 hadn’t committed crimes by were emotionally disturbed

Question 10

What were the findings of Bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves (1944) study into maternal deprivation

Answer 10

86% of the thieves diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths had early prolonged separation from their mother

17% of the other thieves had experienced early prolonged separation from their mothers

4% of the control group had experienced frequent early separation

Question 11

What was the conclusion of Bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves (1944) study into maternal deprivation

Answer 11

These findings suggest a link between early separations and alter social and emotional behaviors

In a severe form, deprivation can lead to affevtionless psychopathy

Question 12

A strength of Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory (1951)

Answer 12

P: One strength of Bowlbys theory is that there is research that supports the evidence of consequences of affectionless psychopathy
E: bowlby looked at 44 thieves and found that 86% of the thieves that were diagnosed as affectionless had early prolonged separations from their mothers
E: this supports a link between early deprivation and altered emotional behaviour in the long term
L: therefore this adds validity to the concept of affectionless psychopathy