Bowlby's theory of Maternal Deprivation Flashcards
(15 cards)
what is meant by ‘maternal deprivation’?
long term separation (maternal deprivation) from primary attachment in early childhood (within critical period) then psychological damage is inevitable and irreversible
what is meant by the critical period and what is it for humans?
the first 2.5 yrs is the critical period for psychological development
if a child is deprived of emotional care from a mother figure (or substitute) for an extended period of time, psychological damage is inevitable AND irreversible
what are the 3 effects of maternal deprivation?
effects on a child’s intellectual, social and emotional development
how does maternal deprivation affect intellectual development?
linked to low IQ (mental retardation)
children raised in orphanages have lower IQs than fostered/ adopted children
how does maternal deprivation affect emotional development?
Bowlby said maternal deprivation can lead to affectionless psychopathy- lack or remorse, guilt and empathy
this links to IWM
how does maternal deprivation affect social development?
more likely to show delinquent (criminal) behaviour
and difficulty interacting with peers
describe the procedure of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?
interviewed 44 teenage boys who were delinquents (thieves), for signs of affectionless psychopathy (lack of affection, guilt, empathy)
comparison of delinquent (i.e. criminal) and disturbed children (control group)
what are the findings of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?
32% of delinquents had an affectionless character and apparently had inability to relate to others
86% of these 32% had experienced maternal deprivation
only 3% of control group had experienced maternal deprivation
CONCLUSION: early separation/ deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy
how is it a limitation that Bowlby concluded the 44 thieves study showed maternal deprivation CAUSED affectionless psychopathy?
it is only a correlation, there is 3rd variable problem
e.g. poverty, environment brought up in, education
how does Harlow and his monkeys support maternal deprivation?
when reared without a mum, they later showed aggression and were less sociable, as well as being neglectful mothers
HOWEVER
lacks generalisability because human brain an behaviour is much more complex than monkeys
who replicated the 44 thieves study and what did they find?
Lewis replicated on larger scale using 550 teens interviews
found no link between maternal deprivation and criminality (i.e. social and emotional development)
suggests consequences of MD aren’t as serious as Bowlby thought
this study also has increased validity as it isn’t done by Bowlby himself so isn’t bias
how does the case of the Czech twins challenge Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?
they made a full recovery from being in isolation from 18mnths- 7 years
shows effects of MD might not be as inevitable and irreversible as Bowlby said, and critical period may be more of a sensitive period, children can recover from MD if given high quality emotional care
why might the Czech twins study lack generalisability?
recovery may only be true if given the level of care they were given, not all children who experience MD have this
what is a good counter paragraph for MD?
LIM; socially sensitive research enforces gender stereotypes as it suggests mothers are permanently damaging their children by regular separation when they go to work, if the child isn’t recieving adequate emotional care during this time- Bowlby may have overstated consequences of MD
STRENGTH; practical application
, more people understand consequences of a lack of prim attachment figure so foster carers encouraged to form attachments with children, which they used to advise against
and in hospitals, parents are encouraged to regularly visit children and children are given substitute maternal figure for their stay if this isnt possible
what does Bowlby’s theory of MD fail to distinguish between?
privation (lack of any attachment) and deprivation (loss/separation) which can make consequences look worse than they are
privation is worse and the consequences are worse than deprivation
