Paper 1 - Attachment - Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis Flashcards
Define maternal deprivation
The absence of the love and care of a mother or mother figure due to the loss of an existing attachment
What are the consequences of Maternal deprivation
Intellectual - Goldfarb (1947) found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions when compared against children who were fostered (and therefore formed attachments).
Emotional -
• An inability to form attachments in the future (see the Internal Working Model)
• Affectionless psychopathy (inability to feel remorse/guilt)
• Delinquency (behavioural problems in adolescence)
• Problems with Cognitive Development
Evaluate Research into Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis
:) There are methodological issues/strengths with Bowlby’s research on which the theory is based. It was a natural experiment as there was low control over variables and it considers real world issues and factors. However, it used a self-report questionnaire
:( A further limitation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation is his confusion between different types of early experience (deprivation and privation)
:( A flaw of Bowlby’s theory is his over-reliance on a critical period.
:( It could be argued that Bowlby’s MDH is socially sensitive as it places blame on the mother for any separation from her child.
What did Bowlby conclude about maternal deprivation?
There is an association/correlation between maternal deprivation (periods of prolonged separation from mother/attachment figure) and emotional problems (affection less psychopathy) and also offending
What was the key study Bowlby used in his theory of maternal deprivation?
Bowlby (1944) 44 Juvenile Thieves Study:
44 Thieves were compared with 44 Non-thieves - all boys were currently in a delinquency centre. Bowlby collected data via interviews and questionnaires from the 88 juveniles and found that 17/ 44 thieves had experienced early prolonged separation. He also interviewed the families to ascertain whether there was any prolonged separation from the mothers.
44 juvenile thieves, 30 who were not affectionless psychopaths, 5 experienced prolonged separation from mother (deprivation) 17% who experienced deprivation:
