Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

• What does Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis state?

  Infants need a continuous relationship with a mother
• What are the consequences of not forming a warm relationship with a mother?

  Difficulty forming relationships and emotional disorders
• What are the three important features of Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis?

  • Continuous relationship with mother or maternal figure
  • Relationship must develop before 30 months
  • A maternal substitute is sufficient for primary relationship
• Why are discontinuous relationships considered unstable?

  They disrupt the development of stable relationships
• What is the critical age for the development of the mother-child relationship according to Bowlby?

  Before the age of 30 months
• What happens if the mother-child relationship is disrupted after 30 months?

  There is a risk of emotional disturbance
• What did Bowlby conclude about the relationship with a maternal substitute?

  A maternal substitute can be sufficient
• How many children were involved in Bowlby's juvenile thieves study?

  88 children
• What behavior disorder did Bowlby identify in some of the thieves?

  Affectionless psychopathy
• What percentage of affectionless psychopaths experienced prolonged separation from their mothers?

  86%
• What was the comparison group in Bowlby's study?

  Children who had not committed crimes
• What did Bowlby conclude about maternal deprivation and antisocial behavior?

  Maternal deprivation leads to antisocial behaviors
• What is a limitation of Bowlby's findings from the juvenile thieves study?

  The findings are correlational, not causal
• What issue arises from the retrospective data collection in Bowlby's study?

  It may lack reliability due to biases
• How long was John separated from his mother in the Robertson & Robertson study?

  9 days
• How did John's experience in the residential nursery affect him?

  He became progressively more withdrawn
• What was the outcome for children cared for by a foster mother?

  They developed no emotional problems
• What does the research by Skeels & Dye (1939) demonstrate?

  • Emotional care impacts child development
  • Orphans in institutions had lower IQs
  • Orphans in caring environments had higher IQs
• What was the average IQ change for children in the normal institution in Skeels & Dye's study?

  Fell from 87 to 61 points
• What was the average IQ change for children raised in the home for mentally retarded women?

  Rose from 64 to 92 points
• What are some criticisms of the maternal deprivation hypothesis?

  • Evidence often includes other deprivations
  • Emotional disturbances may arise from physical deprivation
  • Not all maternal deprivation leads to emotional disruption
• What did Bowlby et al (1956) find about children hospitalized with tuberculosis?

  They showed no difference in antisocial behavior
• What factor did Bowlby suggest protected some children from negative effects of maternal deprivation?

  Individual differences like secure attachment