evaluation

• What evidence did William Goldfarb provide regarding maternal deprivation and IQ?

  He found lower IQ in children who remained in institutions compared to those who were fostered.
• What was the focus of Bowlby's (1944) 44 thieves study?

  The link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation
• What was the sample size of Bowlby's 44 thieves study?

  44 criminal teenagers
• What were the characteristics of affectionless psychopathy as identified in the study?

  Lack of affection, lack of guilt, and lack of empathy
• How were the families of the 'thieves' involved in the study?

  They were interviewed to establish early separations from their mothers
• What was the control group in Bowlby's study?

  44 non-criminal but emotionally-disturbed young people
• What did Bowlby find regarding the number of affectionless psychopaths among the thieves?

  14 of the 44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths
• How many of the affectionless psychopaths had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers?

  12 out of 14 affectionless psychopaths
• What was the comparison of separations experienced by the remaining thieves?

  Only five of the remaining 30 thieves had experienced separations
• How many participants in the control group experienced long separations?

  Two participants
• What conclusion did Bowlby draw from his 44 thieves study?

  Prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy
• Bowlby's 44 thieves study supported his theory of maternal deprivation
• Bowlby's 44 thieves study is a correlational study (limitation)

  • not a controlled experiment, as its not possible
  • causation can't be established
  • factors such as socio-economic status, family criminal history, or inherited mental health conditions could have influenced the likelihood of maternal deprivation in infancy and later offending by the children
• Strength - Bowlby's work on attachment has social impacts

  • influencing public policy and social welfare systems
  • e.g. hospitals altered policies for hospitalised children to allow for a consistent caregiver presence
• Counterpoint - Bowlby's work on attachment impacts on economy

  • nurseries are more expensive
  • focus on maternity rather than paternity leave may have resulted in an increase in the gender pay gap
• Limitation - criticisms of gender bias

  • focus on the mother as the primary caregiver potentially downplays the contribution fathers and other caregivers can make in a child's emotional development (alpha bias)
  • Schaffer et al. have found 87% of infants can form multiple strong attachments at 18 months
  • Other research indicates important roles for the father in early attachment such as encouraging risk taking, developing socialisation and the sensitive responsive role