Bowlby - Maternal Deprivation

• What causes maternal deprivation according to Bowlby?

  Prolonged separation from the attachment figure
• What is the critical period for maternal deprivation?

  First 3 years of life
• What are the consequences of maternal deprivation?

  Irreversible long-term negative effects
• What are the consequences of maternal deprivation on intellectual development?

  • Cognitive delays
  • Low IQ
  • Goldfarb (1947): Orphaned children had lower IQ than fostered children
• What are the consequences of maternal deprivation on emotional development?

  • Affectionless Psychopathy
  • Inability to show affection/remorse
  • Impulsive behavior with no regard for consequences
• What was the aim of Bowlby’s 44 Thieves’ Study?

  Link between affectionless psychopathy & maternal deprivation
• How many criminal teenagers were studied in Bowlby’s 44 Thieves’ Study?

  44 criminal teenagers
• What was the control group in Bowlby’s 44 Thieves’ Study?

  44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed teens
• What were the findings of Bowlby’s 44 Thieves’ Study regarding the thieves group?

  • 14/44 were affectionless psychopaths
  • 12/14 had prolonged separation in first two years
• What were the findings of Bowlby’s 44 Thieves’ Study regarding the control group?

  • 2/44 had maternal separation
  • 0/44 were affectionless psychopaths
• What conclusion can be drawn from Bowlby’s 44 Thieves’ Study?

  Prolonged separation causes affectionless psychopathy
• What supporting evidence exists for Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

  • Harlow's study on monkeys
  • Maternal deprivation led to abusive, aggressive behavior
  • Extreme cases resulted in killing offspring
• What conclusion did Harlow's study support regarding maternal deprivation?

  It has a negative developmental impact
• What did Kagan's study on Guatemalan Indians find regarding maternal deprivation?

  • No cognitive/social deficits found
  • Poor environment did not lead to long-term harm
• What conclusion can be drawn from Kagan's findings?

  Maternal deprivation does not always cause harm
• What did Lewis (1954) find in his replication of Bowlby’s study?

  • No link between maternal deprivation and criminality
  • Other factors influence outcomes
• What conclusion can be drawn from Lewis's findings?

  Other factors influence outcomes, not just deprivation
• What did Koluchová's study on Czech twins demonstrate?

  • Recovery is possible with good care
  • Suggests a sensitive, not critical, period for attachment
• What is the difference between deprivation and privation?

  Deprivation is loss after forming attachment
• What issue arises from the concept confusion between deprivation and privation in Bowlby’s findings?

  • Some thieves may have never formed an attachment
  • Findings might reflect privation, reducing validity