bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation ao1

Question 1

what did bowlby 1953 say about mother-love in infancy

Answer 1

“mother-love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as vitamins are for physical health

Question 2

maternal deprivation focuses on

Answer 2

how being seperated from mother in early childhood has consequences for infants emotional and intellectual dev

Question 3

maternal deprivation could interfere with…

Answer 3

usual process of attachment formation

Question 4

explain difference between separation and deprivation

Answer 4

separation is when your not in the presence of primary attachment figure only becomes problem is child is deprived of emotional care (deprivation) - this could happen if mother present but depressed.

Question 5

effects of brief separation

Answer 5

brief separation particularly where child is with substitute caregiver who can provide emotional are not signifcant for development but extended separations can led to deprivation which by definition causes harm

Question 6

what did bowlby consider to be the critical period

Answer 6

first 2-2.5 years of life

Question 7

how is the critical period important in terms of infants development

Answer 7

if child is separaed in this time from mother or sub caregiver and is then deprived of emotional care bowlby believed that psychological damage is inevitable

Question 8

what else did bowlby believe about psychological damage in critical period

Answer 8

continual risk of psychological damage up till the age of 5

Question 9

2 effects of maternal deprivation on development

Answer 9

intellectual
emotional

Question 10

describe how maternal deprivation affects intellectual development

Answer 10

bowlby believed that extended maternal deprivation during the critical period results in delayed intelectual development
characterised by abnormally low iq

Question 11

what study demonstrates effects of maternal deprivation on intellectual development and what did it find

Answer 11

William Goldfarb 1947
found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had higher standard of emotional care

Question 12

describe how maternal deprivation affects emotional development

Answer 12

affectionless psychopathy - inability to experience guilt or strong emotions toward others
this prevents a person developing fufiiling relationships and is associated w criminality. affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate feelings of victims so lack remorse for their actions

Question 13

name of bowlbys study and when

Answer 13

44 thieves study
1944

Question 14

what the reason behind bowlbys 44 thieves study

Answer 14

he wanted to examine link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

Question 15

procedure of 44 thieves study

Answer 15

sample contained 44 criminal teenageers accused of stealing
all 44 teens interviewd for signs of affectionless psychopathy
families also interviewed to establish whether “theives” had prolonged early seperation from mother
this sample was compared to a control group of 44 non criminal but emotionally disturbed young people

Question 16

affectionless psychopathy is characterised by…

Answer 16

lack of …
-affection
-guilt of their actions
- empathy for their victims

Question 17

findings of bowlbys 44 theives study

Answer 17

14/44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths
out of those 14 thieves, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first 2 years of their lives
in contrast only 5 of the remainng 30 had expirenced separations
in control group 2/44 had expirenced long separations
no affectionless psychpathy

Question 18

bowlby made the conclusion after the 44 thieves study that ..

Answer 18

prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affection-less psychopathy