Psychodynamic Classic Research - Bowlby’s 44 Thieves

Question 1

What was the aim of bowlbys research?

Answer 1

To investigate a link between childhood delinquency and maternal separation

Question 2

What research method was used in bowlbys research?

Answer 2

Case studies - based on info gathered from clinical interviews between 1936-1939.

Question 3

How was the sample gathered in bowlbys research?

Answer 3

Opportunity - had all been referred to London child guidance clinic due to being ‘emotionally disturbed’.

Question 4

What were the characteristics of the 44 thieves?

Answer 4

13 females and 31 males, aged 5-17 years, 27 average IQ, 15 higher IQ, 2 lower IQ,

Question 5

How were the thieves graded?

Answer 5

Graded from 1 - 4 on the severity of theft (1=committed only 1 theft, 4= stealing for a long time)

Question 6

How many thieves were in each grade category?

Answer 6

Grade 4 - 23,
grade 3 - 10,
grade 2 - 8,
grade 1 - 3.

Question 7

What was the control group like in bowlbys research?

Answer 7

All thieves were matched to 44 emotionally disturbed non thieves of similar age, IQ and economic status.

Question 8

How long was the procedure in bowlbys research?

Answer 8

2 hours

Question 9

What was the role of the psychologist in bowlbys research?

Answer 9

When the child arrived at the London child guidance clinic the psychologist gave them mental tests to assess their intelligence (Binet IQ test) then the psychologist noted the emotional attitude of the child.

Question 10

What was the social workers role in bowlbys research?

Answer 10

To interview the mother about details of the child’s early psychiatric history and home life.

Question 11

What happened once both the psychologist and social worker spoke to the child and mother?

Answer 11

They report back to bowlby (the psychiatrist) who then interviewed the child and then mother. The team then reviewed school and other reports and discussed their conclusions.

Question 12

What was the continued support afterwards in bowlbys research?

Answer 12

Most children saw the psychiatrist weekly for 6+ months and the mother talked about her problems to the social worker.

Question 13

What were the 6 character types and how many was there of each?

Answer 13

Schizoid - 4
Hyperthymic - 13
Affectionless - 14
Normal - 2
Circular - 2
Depressed - 9

Question 14

What does an ‘affectionless character’ mean?

Answer 14

Lack normal affection, shame or sense of responsibility.

Question 15

Of the 23 grade 4 thieves how many were Affectionless, and how many were Affectionless in the control group?

Answer 15

13/23
0 in control group.

Question 16

How many thieves experienced maternal separation?

Answer 16

12/14 of the affectionless thieves, and only 5 in the other character types (non affectionless thieves) and only 2 in the control non theives group.

Question 17

What was the finding about openly hostile fathers?

Answer 17

5/27 who had not experienced maternal separation, had fathers who were openly hostile and did not hide that the child was unwanted.

Question 18

What did bowlby conclude from his findings?

Answer 18

• factors that inhibit the ability to form relationships affect likelihood of offending, support assumptions that early childhood experiences affect later behaviours.
• crime is not only attributed to psychological factors, social and economic factors have an impact too, such as poverty, poor housing, lack of recreational activities.
• treatment should be offered to delinquents, however prevention is better, sometimes maternal separation is unavoidable so people who are around the child should be made aware so they can provide substitute emotional care.

Question 19

What are the evaluation points of the methodology of bowlbys research?

Answer 19

❌use of interviews
✅use of a control group
✅use of a case study method

Question 20

What are the evaluation points of the procedure of bowlbys research?

Answer 20

❌issues of reliability
❌researcher bias
✅procedures were not artificial

Question 21

What are the evaluation points of the findings and conclusions Of bowlbys research?

Answer 21

❌ findings lack reliability
❌ researcher bias
✅ findings have ecological validity
❌ low internal validity
✅ alternative evidence lo support
❌ alternative evidence to contradict

Question 22

What are the ethical and social implications of bowlbys research?

Answer 22

• not many ethical issues
  ❌ ethical issue-psychological harm
  ❌ social implication-workplace
  ✅ social implication-education
  ✅ social implication-health sector

Question 23

Explain the drawback of using interviews in the methodology in bowlbys research

Answer 23

social desirability, children may have lied to avoid further trouble, mothers may have lied to justify problems experienced by their children to be seen as better parents. Lowers internal validity, may not have a legitimate measure of child’s character or experiences.

Question 24

Explain the benefits of using a control group in the methodology in bowlbys research

Answer 24

matched pairs design, could directly compare experiences of maternal separation and personality types. More valid picture in effects of separation on delinquency than if just studied group of thieves

Question 25

Explain the use of a case study in the methodology in bowlbys research

Answer 25

high ecological validity, series of case studies so not artificial manipulation, used multiple methods to gather qualitative information about child’s behaviour and home life so has high external validity so findings can be generalised beyond setting of the study.

Question 26

Why does the procedure have issues of reliability in bowlbys research?

Answer 26

lack external reliability, bowlby described his collection of data as “unsystematic and unplanned” difficult to replicate procedures in same way to test for consistency

Question 27

Why could the procedure create researcher bias in bowlbys research?

Answer 27

Risk of researcher bias as bowlby conducted all the psychiatric assessments and diagnosis’ himself (affectionless psychopath) he also knew which ptps were thieves. His expectations may have influenced his research. Undermines internal validity of his procedures.

Question 28

Why was the fact the producers weren’t artificial a benefit in bowlbys research?

Answer 28

high external validity as behaviour was not artificially manipulated. It gathered data about their real life circumstances. Should reflect real life situations of when a child is separated from their mother.

Question 29

Why do the findings lack reliability in bowlbys research?

Answer 29

lack external reliability "unsystematic and unplanned ", he worked with the children from 1936 -1939 and then decided to analyse the data and publish in 1944. As it was just a standardised piece of research it would be difficult to replicate in the same way to check for consistent results.

Question 30

How does researcher bias affect the findings and conclusions in bowlbys research?

Answer 30

risk of researcher bias as bowlby did all psychiatric assessments and diagnosis himself and knew who the thieves were so his expectations may have influenced his research. Undermines internal validity of procedures which would invalidate findings and conclusions

Question 31

Why do the findings and conclusions have ecological validity in bowlbys research?

Answer 31

did not artificially manipulate behavior, collected data about real life circumstances findings have high external validity and reflect real life situations of maternal separation.

Question 32

How did low internal validity affect the findings and conclusions in bowlbys research?

Answer 32

clinical interviews may have led to social desirability because mothers may lie to justify their Childs experiences and make them look like a better mother and the child may lie to avoid further trouble, may not have legitimate measure of Childs personality and experiences.

Question 33

What alternative evidence is there to support bowlbys research?

Answer 33

ermisch and francesconi, research on working mums on child development, mothers who return to work before child starts school tend to have slower emotional development and score less in reading and maths, slower emotional development supports affectionless character

Question 34

What alternative evidence is there to contradict bowlbys research?

Answer 34

Bowlbys own research from the 50s, impacts on children who were seperated from their mother due to hospitalisation from tuberculosis (TB), found that there were little long term consequences and the findings from his 44 thieves research might have been a bit unreliable, also suggests there may be other factors contributing to development of an affection less character or delinquency not just separation from mother

Question 35

Why are there nor many ethical issues referred to in bowlbys resraech?

Answer 35

Unusual as the Ptps were patients from 1936 -1939 and then the work was published in 1944 so the participants didn't actually take in the research so can't refer to many ethical issues.

Question 36

Why was there a risk of psychological harm in bowlbys research?

Answer 36

mum being interviewed by social worker may lead them to acknowledge their role in their Childs emotional and behavioural problems which could cause distress such as sadness or embarassment also the child having to recall traumatic memories such as hostile father ar instances of maternal separation. However at the time the research there were no ethical guidelines so it would be unfair to accuse him of breaching them.

Question 37

What was the social implication in the workplace in bowlbys research?

Answer 37

implies regular separation from mum cause damage so could lead ro mums not wanting to work so can't be labelled as 'bad mothers' or discrimination against women who want ro work meaning they don't get hired meaning skills gaps in the workplace, meaning damage to the economy.

Question 38

What is the social implication in education in bowlbys research?

Answer 38

nurseries having low staff to child ratio (1:3) . to ensure attachments can still be formed. Parenting classes and PSHE lessons in schools can reach the importance of attachments with your children. These can help prevent parental separation so therefore prevent delinquent behaviour

Question 39

What is the social implication in the health sector in bowlbys research?

Answer 39

previously when a child was hospitalised there was restricted visiting hours meaning there would be some maternal separation, however this research contributed to a wider understanding of the effects of maternal deprivation which meant hospitals introduced round the clock visiting hours so that a parent could stay with the child which can prevent things such as delinquent behaviour