The Psychodynamic Approach: John Bowlby METHODOLOGY Flashcards
What research method was used in this research?
a series of case studies
What 2 groups where there in the studies?
group of thieves
control group (non-thieves)
Why was a control group used?
to make comparisons
What did the final analysis look at?
an association between the 2 groups of participants (thieves and control group) and experiences of separation
Who was the focus of the study on?
44 children who attended a child guidance clinic in London (the ‘thieves’)
What did the sample consist of in the thieves category?
31 boys and 13 girls
aged between 5 and 17 years old
Why were the participants described as ‘thieves’?
Were any of them charged?
stealing was one of their ‘symptoms’
only a few had been actually charged in court partly because many were too young to be charged
How were the thieves graded?
they were graded in terms of the seriousness of their stealing
grade 4 thieves (22 of them) had been stealing for a long time, some over 3 years
grade 1 thieves has committed only one theft (4 children fell into this category)
What was the intelligence of the thieves?
mainly of average intelligence
- about 50% had an IQ score in the range of 85-114 (100 is the mean score for IQ)
- further 15 thieves had a higher IQ
- just 2 had an IQ lower than 85
Who was a part of the control group?
a further 44 children who attended the clinic
How is the control group similar to the thieves?
How are they different?
similar in age, sex and IQ to the thieves
like the thieves they were also emotionally disturbed, but DID NOT STEAL
What was the sample in the study overall?
88 children
all of whom had been referred to the child guidance clinic for emotional problems
Who else was involved in the study apart from the thieves and the control group?
the mothers of the thieves and of the control group
Why were the mothers involved?
they were interviewed in order to assess the case histories of the children (eg childhood experiences they had)
