Attachment: disruption of attachment

Question 1

what is separation

Answer 1

• the child is away from the caregiver for a short time (hours/days).
  -> effects are not as long/permanent.

Question 2

what is deprivation

Answer 2

• the loss of something wanted/needed -> ‘maternal deprivation’, the loss of an attachment figure -> permanent loss.

Question 3

what is Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis

Answer 3

• deprivation from the main carer during the critical period (the 1st 3 years).
  -> harmful effects on emotional, social, and intellectual development etc.
• separation anxiety -> the long-term effect of deprivation (fear of separation from caregiver).
  -> leads to problematic behaviour: clingy, avoiding school etc.
  -> future relationships may be affected by this emotional insecurity.

Question 4

Explain Bowlby’s study of the 44 juvenile thieves

Answer 4

• method: case studies on 44 teens who were stealing.
  -> control group of 44 ‘emotionally disturbed’ teens who didn’t steal.
• results: 17 of the thieves experience separations from mothers before the age of 2, compared to 2 in the control group.
  -> 12/14 of the thieves were labelled ‘affection less psychopaths’ -> experienced separation from the mothers.
• conclusion: early deprivation from the PC can have harmful long-term consequences.

Question 5

Evaluate bowlby’s study of the 44 thieves

Answer 5

(+) indicates a link between deprivation and criminal behaviour.
-> (-) can’t be said that one causes the other (causation).
-> (-) ignores other factors such as poverty.
(+) detailed info with case studies.
-> (-) however relies on retrospective data (looking at past events/data to explain).
-> may be unreliable.

Question 6

Explain Robertson and Robertson’s separation study

Answer 6

• method: naturalistic observation, children experience short separation.
  -> e.g. John aged 18 months stayed in nursery for 9 days while mother had another baby.
• results: 1st couple days, protested -> after a few days, showed detachment -> more active and content.
  -> when mother collected him, reluctant to be affectionate.
• conclusion: short-term separation can have very bad effects -> possible permanent damage to attachment with the mother.

Question 7

evaluate Robertson and Robertson’s separation study

Answer 7

(-) the reaction may not be due to separation, could be down to a new environment or less attention.
(-) less control of variables -> difficult to replicate individual situations.
(+) natural setting, ecological validity but perhaps less reliable findings.

Question 8

Evaluate the maternal deprivation hypothesis overall

Answer 8

(+) other supporting evidence: Goldfarb found orphanage children were socially and maternally deprived -> less intellectual/social development.

(-) evidence can be criticised -> Bowlby did not consider other factors like poverty.
-> Goldfarb -> children may have been harmed by SOCIAL deprivation instead.

Question 9

explain how the effects of disruption can be reversed

Answer 9

• Bowlby assumed the effects of disruption cannot be reversed.
  -> however research shows good-quality care can reverse effects.
• Skeels + Dye -> children who were socially deprived quickly improved IQ scores when transferred to school having one-to-one care.
• Koluchova -> case of the Czech twin boys.

Question 10

Explain Koluchova’s study of the Czech twin boys

Answer 10

• twin boys mother die after birth.
  -> stepmother treats them badly and kept them in the cellar where they were beaten.
• when found -> had little social or intellectual development.
• later adopted and made progress -> by adulthood, had above average intelligence and normal social relationships.