Chapter 3.9 - Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

What is meant by maternal deprivation?

Answer 1

The emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother-substitute
- Continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development
- Prolonged separation causes damage to emotional and intellectual development

Question 2

What is separation?

Answer 2

When the child is not in the presence of the primary attachment figure
- This becomes a problem if the child becomes deprived of emotional care
- Brief separations where the child is with a substitute caregiver who can provide emotional care, are not significant for development

Question 3

What is deprivation?

Answer 3

Extended periods of separation which causes harm

Question 4

How does maternal deprivation effect intellectual development?

Answer 4

• If children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period, they would experience delayed intellectual development, characterised by ABNORMALLY low IQ
• Goldfarb found lower IQ in children who remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and had a higher standard of emotional care

Question 5

How does maternal deprivation effect emotional development?

Answer 5

• Affectionless psychopathy is the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others
• Prevents development of fulfilling relationships and is associated with crime
• Cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and lack remorse for their actions

Question 6

Describe the procedure on the study examining the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

Answer 6

Bowlby (1944) : 44 thieves study
- 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing
- Interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy: lack of affection, empathy for their victims, and lack of guilt about their actions
- Families interviewed to establish whether they had prolonged early separations from their mothers
- Compared to a control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people

Question 7

Describe the findings on the study examining the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

Answer 7

• 14/44 were affectionless psychopaths
• 12/14 experienced prolonged separation within the first two years of life
• 5/30 experienced separation
• 2/44 in the control group experienced long separations
• Concluded that deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy

Question 8

What is a limitation of the theory of maternal deprivation? (flawed evidence)

Answer 8

• Bowlby carried out the family interviews and the assessments for affectionless psychopathy
• Open to bias as he knew which teenagers were expected to show signs of psychopathy in advance
• Influenced by Goldfarb’s study which had confounding variables (children experienced early trauma, institutional care and prolonged separation)
• Relied on flawed evidence that would not be taken as evidence nowadays

Question 9

What is a counterpoint of the theory of maternal deprivation? (flawed evidence)

Answer 9

• New research (2003) provided support that maternal deprivation can have long term effects
• Baby rats were separated from their mother as little as a day
• Had a permanent effect on their social development ONLY

Question 10

What is a limitation of the theory of maternal deprivation? (deprivation and privation)

Answer 10

• Deprivation is the loss of the primary attachment figure after attachment has developed
• Privation is the failure to form any attachment
• Long term damage Bowlby associated with maternal deprivation is a result of privation
• Children in Goldfarb’s studied were prived
• 44 thieves had disrupted early lives and may have never formed strong attachments
• Overestimated the seriousness of the effects of deprivation in child’s development

Question 11

What is a limitation of the theory of maternal deprivation? (critical vs sensitive period)

Answer 11

• Damage was inevitable if a child hadn’t formed an attachment within the firs 2 1/2 years of life, CRITICAL
• Evidence that good quality aftercare can prevent most/all of the damage
• Czech twins(1976) : experienced severe physical and emotional abuse from 18 months to seven years
• Were severely damaged emotionally but received excellent care and recovered fully by their teens
• Lasting harm is not inevitable even in cases of severe privation
• Critical period is better seen as a sensitive period