bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation Flashcards
what is maternal deprivation
it is the emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/ her mother or mother substitute
what did Bowlby propose happens when continuous maternal deprivation happens
Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, and that prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development
what does separation mean
separation means that the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure
- this only becomes a problem only if the child becomes deprived - specifically deprived of her care
when does deprivation/ deprivation becomes a problem
brief separation, particularly where the child is with substitute caregiver, are not significant for development
BUT extended separation can lead to deprivation - this causes harm
what is the critical value
Bowlby concluded that 30 months of life can be classed as the critical period for psychological development
what happens when a child is separated from their mother during the critical period
if a child is separated from their mother in absence of suitable care and so deprived of her emotional care for an extended period during this critical period (Bowlby believed) psychological damage was inevitable
what are the two effect of development deprivation has
intellectual
emotional development
what is the effect of deprivation on intellect
Bowlby believed that if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would suffer delayed intellectual development, characterized by abnormally low IQ
what is the evidence that deprivation leads to low intellect
Goldfarb (1947) found lower 1Q in children who remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered an thus had a higher standard of emotional care
how does deprivation lead to stunted emotional development
Bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt strong emotion for others
This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality
Affectionless psychopathy cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions
what is Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
this study examines the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation
what was the procedure
sample in the study consists of 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing
all “thieves” were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy characterized by:
- lack of empathy for victims
- lack of affection
families were also interviewed in order to establish whether the “thieves” had prolonged separations from their mothers
what is the control group in this study
CONTROL GROUP:
-non - criminal but “emotionally disturbed”young people were set up to see how often maternal separation/deprivation occurred in the children who were not thieves
what were the findings from the study
Bowlby foun that 14 of the 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths
of this, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives
In contrast only 5 of the remaining 30 thieves had experienced separation
In the CONTROL GROUP only 2 out of 44 had experienced long separations
what was the conclusions from the study
it was concluded that prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy
