Bowlbys Theory of Maternal Deprivation

Question 1

theory of maternal deprivation- separation vs deprivation

Answer 1

bowlby- separation means the child not being in the presence of the primary attachement figure. this only becomes a problem when the child becomes deprived of emotional care. brief separations, particularly when the child is with a substitute caregiver who can provide emotional care, are not significant for development but extended separations can lead to deprivation which causes harm

Question 2

the critical period

Answer 2

bowlby saw the first 2 and a half years of life as the critical period for psychological development. if a child is separated from their mother without a substitute care and so deprived of her emotional care for an extended duration of time during this critical period then psychological damage was inevitable.

Question 3

effects of development

Answer 3

intellectual development- bowlby believed that if children were maternally deprived for too long during the critical period they would experience delayed intellectual development, characterised by abnormally low IQ. this has been demonstrated in studies of adoption. e.g goldfarb found lower IQ in children who had remained in instituations as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care.

Question 4

effects on development 2

Answer 4

emotional development- bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others. this prevents a person developing fulfilling relationships and associated with ciminatlity

Question 5

bowlbys research- procedure

Answer 5

44 criminal teenagers who were accused of stealling. they were all interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy: characterised as a lack of affection, lack of guilt about their actions and lack of empathy for their victims. their families were also interviewed in order to establish if these ‘thieves’ had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers. study was compared to a control group of 44 non criminal but emotionally disturbed young people.

Question 6

bowlbys research- findings

Answer 6

found that 14 of the 44 criminal teenagers could be described as affectionless psychopaths and 12 of these had experienced prolonged separatiom from their mothers in the first 2 years of their lives. in contrast only 5 of the remaining 30 thieves had experienced separations. only 2 of the participants in the control group of 44 had experienced long separations.