Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis Flashcards
what is Bowlby’s MDH?
disruption of attachment bond results in serious & permanent damage to a child’s emotional, social & intellectual development
what is the PDD model?
model describing the distress caused by short-term separation
describe the PDD model
Protest - immediate reaction to separation - crying, kicking etc. - direct expression of child’s anger & fear.
Despair - calmer behaviour, anger & fear still felt inwardly, little response to offers of comfort, comforts itself eg suck thumb
Detachment - child responds to people again but warily, rejection of caregiver on their return common
what did Douglas find about about short-term separation?
separations of less than a week for children below 4 years old were correlated with behavioural difficulties - supporting MDH
give evaluations of MDH in short-term separation
Robertson&Robertson provided children with short-term separations with alternative attachment & normal home routine which prevented severe psychological damage - so negative outcomes aren’t inevitable.
what are the statistics for divorce in the UK?
40% of marriages end in divorce & 50% of divorced parents not living with their children lost contact
what did Rodgers & Pryor find about long term deprivation?
children experiencing 2 or more divorces have the lowest adjustment rates & most behavioural problems
give evaluations for long term deprivation MDH
separation through different causes produces different outcomes - Richards found attachment disruption through divorce leads to resentment % stress whereas through death - depression & delinquency.
what is privation?
children who have never formed an attachment bond
what is Freud & Dann’s study on privation?
6 children in Nazi camp, formed no maternal attachments, little languages didn’t know what to do with toys & were hostile to adults, but were devoted to each other.
they were able to make rapid developments in physical & intellectual capabilities - made good recoveries - less support for MDH
what is Curtiss & Rymer’s study on privation?
Genie, denied human interaction, beaten & strapped to potty seat until 13, couldn’t speak or stand up, spent most go her time spitting, years of therapy & developed some language abilities , 18 moved to in care of mother, then 6 different foster homes - further abused, went to live with people with learning difficulties
give evaluations for privation
no way of knowing fully what happened to people in case studies before they were discovered
some made good recoveries - not all bad - so are dependent on retrospective memories that may be selective.
Bowlby’s views that negative effects of maternal deprivation are irreversible are overstated - children who’s privation experiences were followed by positive experiences made good recoveries
what is institutionalisation?
effects of attachments of care provided by orphanages & residential children’s homes - they tend to show disinhibited attachment - cling, attention-seeking behaviour
what is Spitz research on institutionalisation?
children in poor quality South American orphanages - staff overworked, untrained & rarely talked to the children - had no affection and toys - the children displayed anaclitic depression, a reaction to loss of love object, fear, sadness, weight loss & inability to sleep
what is Bowlby’s study on institutionalisation?
44 juvenile thieves, control group of non-thieves who suffered emotional problems, 32% of thieves exhibited affectionless psychopathy, lacking social conscience. 86% of affectionless psychopathy had maternal separation compared to 17% of thieves who weren’t affectionless psychopaths - supports
