EVALUATION OF RESEARCH (MAT DEP)

• Weakness- idea of maternal deprivation has low internal validity 

  • Researcher bias
  • Bowlby proposed his theory before completing the research- could affect diagnosis of affectionless psychopaths
  • Decreases validity- did research himself, lacks objectivity, scientific credibility
• Weakness- lacks generalisability

  • Bowlby used retrospective data collection in his interviews to ask mothers if their children had been separated from them from a long period of time
  • Decreases validity- parents have to think back- may have inaccurate accounts
  • Furthermore- social desirability bias may invalidate results as the mother may have lied to seem good in the eyes of Bowlby