Maternal Deprivation Flashcards
What was his theory?
Maternal Deprivation
What is maternal deprivation?
Being separated from the mother while in attachment stages can negatively effect the child.
What is the critical period?
0-2.5 years
Result of maternal deprivation
-Lower/ abnormal IQ
-Affection-less psychopathy
- struggles with relationships
What is affection-less psychopathy?
Can’t have guilt or strong emotions towards others.
Aim of Bowlbys 44 thieves
Examine link between affection less psychopathy and maternal deprivation.
Procedure of Bowlbys 44 thieves
-44 criminal teens accused of stealing and families interviewed
-sample compared to control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people
Findings of Bowlbys 44 thieves
-14 of the 44 thieves were affection less psychopaths
-12 of these had prolonged separation from their mothers in the first 2 years of life
Conclusion of Bowlbys 44 thieves
Prolonged maternal deprivation causes affection less psychopathy
Criticism-biased
Biased, he subconsciously wanted to support his idea.
Supporting evidence- animals
-Maternal deprivation was seen in rats (for even a day of separation)
-however this can’t be extrapolated from rats to humans
Criticism- deprivation-privation
-deprivation- loss of primary attachment figure after the attachment has developed.
-privation-failure to form any attachment in the first place.
-the long term damage was more likely to be the result of privation not deprivation (what bowlby was arguing)
Criticism-damage reversible
Two twins had severe physical and psychological abuse from 18mo to 7 yo. However they were well cared for after and by their teens were fully recovered.
Shows that damage is reversible with time and good quality emotional care
Criticism -low reliability
Most attempts to replicate the 44 thieves experiment failed to produce similar results. One study looked at 500 people and found no association between early separation and psychopathy
