Maternal deprivation theory

Define maternal deprivation

the emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/her mother. Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development

What is privation?

when a child has never formed an attachment with anyone e.g due to abuse

What is separation?

when a child is not currently in the presence of their primary attachment figure e.g they have gone to work

What is deprivation?

when a child has prolonged separation from their primary attachment figure e.g due to family arrangements

What are the main effects of deprivation on a child’s development

intellectual and emotional effects

What are intellectual effects?

if children are deprived during the critical period they experience delayed intellectual development and have an abnormally low IQ. Goldforb (1947) found lower IQ in children who remained in an orphanage as opposed to those who had been fostered

What are emotional effects?

affectionless psychopathy is the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions towards others, such as sympathy. This prevents someone from developing ‘normal’ relationships and is associated with criminality

What was the aim of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

to examine the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

What was the method used in Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

• he used a sample of 44 criminal teenagers, all accused of stealing. All of the ‘thieves’ were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy which was characterised as a lack of affection, lack of guilt about their actions and a lack of empathy for their victims

• their families were also interviewed in order to establish whether the ‘thieves’ had prolonged separation from their mothers

• a control group of non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people were used to see how often maternal separation/deprivation occurred in the children who were not thieves

What were the results of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

• from the control group. just 4% experienced early separation from their mother and 0% showed signs of affectionless psychopathy

• from the experimental group. 38% experienced early separation from their mother and 31% showed signs of affectionless psychopathy

What was the conclusion of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?

that prolonged early separation/ deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy

How is the fact that Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory is supported by Harlow and his monkeys a strength? (+counter/development}

because it increases the reliability of this theory due to there being consistent findings about the results of growing up without a mother

Additionally, this gives the theory predictive validity as Harlow’s monkeys showed the consequences of growing up without a mother, and so these results can be used to predict what will happen to others in the same situation

Give an example of this strength

for instance, Harlow found that monkeys who grew up without a mother later became aggressive, less sociable and attempted to kill their own offspring

How is the fact that the research used to lack the maternal deprivation theory lacks validity a weakness?

because it is not guaranteed that the participants actually stole, they were only accused. Additionally, a sample of 44 people is small and not representative of everyone, meaning it lacks population validity. This ultimately means the theory has gaps in it

Give an example of this weakness

for example, the sample size of Bowlby’s research was 44 participants accused of stealing

How is that fact that Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory has real life application a strength? (+counter/development)

because it has helped people to avoid the future effects of maternal deprivation, and so in turn benefits society in general as it keeps people close to their mothers.

an example of this happening is Ronal Mcdonald’s housing charity which helps families to stay close to their child when they need treatment for serious medical conditions

Give an example of this strength

for instance, Bowlby’s research has highlighted the importance of early attachments which has influenced policy development such as family accomadation units at children’s hospitals or maternity leave entitlements

How is the fact that Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory lies in self-report a weakness?

because it is highly likely that not all people will tell the truth due to social desirability, they want to make themselves look better. This ultimately leads to the research lacking validity, having a negative efft on the theory

Give an example of this weakness

for example, Bowlby interviewed the participants and their families in order to assess affectionless psychopathy and experiences of early separation