Bowlby's Maternal Deprivation Theory

Question 1

Who studied maternal deprivation

Answer 1

Bowlby

Question 2

What is separation

Answer 2

When the baby is not in the presence of the primary attachment figure

Question 3

When does separation lead to deprivation

Answer 3

If the child loses out on an element of care eg. Emotional or social

If the separations are extended and excessively frequent this leads to deprivation

Question 4

Why do brief separations not cause harm

Answer 4

If they are brief or if you have a substitute career who provides emotional care, then it tends to not have a negative effect on development

Question 5

What is the role of the critical period

Answer 5

0-2 years

Question 6

What happens if the child is denied emotional care in the critical period

Answer 6

It leads to long lasting psychological delays in intellects and emotional intelligence as well as further psychological damage in forming relationships later in life

Question 7

What are the two main effects of deprivation

Answer 7

Intellectual development
Emotional development

Question 8

Characterize delayed intellectual development

Answer 8

Children who experience maternal deprivation have delayed intellectual development characterised by low IQ

Question 9

Characterised delayed emotional development

Answer 9

Children who experience maternal deprivation would not develop emotionally. This is characterised by afectionless psychopathy.

This is linked to adolescent crimes as they cannot sympathise with their victims

Question 10

Bowlby s study of maternal deprivation and emotional development

Answer 10

44 thieves study

Question 11

44 thieves procedure

Answer 11

-44 teens accused of stealing
-Interviewed for signs of psychopathy
-families were then interviewed about the children’s childhoods
-control group of 44 non criminal teens

Question 12

44 thieves findings

Answer 12

-14 where found to have afectionless psychopathy
-12 experienced extended separation from their mothers in the critical period
-2 experienced separation in control

Question 13

Methodological issues

Answer 13

-Researchers bias
-Bowlby carried out the interviews for the 44 thieves study so he would have expected the teens who tested for APD to have extended separation or deprivation in childhood

-Findings could be biased towards the expected hypothesis

Question 14

Incomplete explanation

Answer 14

-Fails to establish between deprivation and privation with privation being when the attachment was never formed to begin with, often seen in Romanian orphan study, leading to delayed intellectual development but also disinhibited attachment

Question 15

Contradicting research

Answer 15

A sample of 500 young offenders found no link between criminality and APD due to maternal deprivation