Maternal deprivation + Support from animal studies
BOWLBY’S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION The emotional and intellectual consequences of
separation between a child and their mother. Bowlby
Despite most psychologists being critical of this theory, there is some research that offers support. Levy
et al (2003) showed that separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had a permanent
effect on their social development, although it didn't appear to affect other areas of development.
proposed that continuous care from a mother is
Bowlby’s theory essential for normal psychological development, and However, the extent to which studies of rats can be applied to humans is debatable. It may not be
Separation vs deprivation that prolonged separation from this adult causes possible to generalise the results to humans.
Separation simply means the child is not in the presence of the primary serious damage to emotional and intellectual
attachment figure. Extended separation can lead to deprivation (they lose an development. - Counter evidence - Critical period may just be a sensitive period
element of her care), which causes harm to the child. There is counter evidence Bowlby suggested that prolonged separation during the critical period
from studies such as Lewis would inevitably cause damage. However, later research has shown that
Critical period 44 thieves study
(1954), who partially damage is not inevitable. Even severe cases of deprivation have shown
The first 30 months of life are seen as the critical period. If the child is deprived The sample consisted of 44 teenagers accused of
replicated the thieves good outcomes if the child is given good aftercare and social interaction
of its mother's care during this time, psychological damage will occur. stealing (thieves). Bowlby interviewed the thieves,
study on a much larger For example, Koluchova (1976) reported that a pair of deprived twin
looking for signs of affectionless psychopathy.
scale (500 participants). boys appeared to recover fully when looked after by two loving adults.
Their families were also interviewed, to see if the
In her study, there did not This suggests that the critical period may be more 'sensitive' but not
Effect on development thieves had prolonged separation from their mothers
seem to be a link between 'critical'.
Intellectual development as children. A control group of emotionally disturbed
prolonged separation
Bowlby suggested that children who were deprived during the critical period may teenagers, who were not thieves, was also set up.
from the mother and
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT
suffer intellectually. Goldfarb (1947) found that children who were fostered had a Bowlby found that 14 of the 44 thieves could be criminality or difficulty
higher IQ than children who remained in care. described as affectionless psychopaths. 12 had forming relationships.
Emotional development experienced prolonged separation from their
This is a limitation of
Bowlby suggested that deprived children may develop affectionless psychopathy - mothers as children. Of the control group, only 2 of
Bowlby's theory because Internal working model
the inability to feel guilt or empathy. This means they have problems building the 44 had experienced prolonged separation.
there may be other factors Bowlby (1969) suggested that a child’s first relationship, the one with
relationships and often leads to criminality. Bowlby concluded that maternal separation/ he did not address. their primary caregiver, forms a mental representation of what a
deprivation lead to affectionless psychopathy.
relationship should be like. This internal working model acts as a template
and shapes the child’s future relationships with others.
EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY
Children who have bad experiences of their first attachment will bring
that to later relationships. This means they might struggle to form
relationships in the first place or they might not behave appropriately
Rutter’s ERA (English & Romanian Adoptee) study (2011) when they do have them.
Rutter followed 165 Romanian orphans who were adopted in Britain, to
test the extend to which good care would make up for poor early
ATTACHMENT KNOWLEDGE ORGANISER (PART TWO) Childhood relationships
experiences in institutions. Their physical, cognitive and emotional Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in
development were assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 & 15 years old. A control later childhood. Securely attached infants tend to have good quality
+ Real life application - Most studies lack validity friendships, while insecurely attached infants don’t (Kerns 1994).
group was made up of 52 British children adopted at the same time.
Studying the Romanian orphans has lead to Most of the studies into the effect of early
Initially, around half the adoptee's showed delayed intellectual Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) found that securely attached children
improvements in the way children are cared attachments use a self-report interview or
development, and most were malnourished. By age 11, children showed are unlikely to be involved in bullying, insecure-resistant are more likely
for. E.g. children's homes now avoid having questionnaire. This means they may lack
varying levels of recovery (depending on adoption age). Children who to be victims and insecure-avoidant are more likely to be the bullies.
lots of carers for each child. Instead, a child validity because participants are not
were adopted at age < 6 months had higher IQ's than older children. will have 1 or 2 'key workers', allowing them always honest, or may remember things Adult relationships (romantic)
In terms of attachment, children adopted at 6 months or older showed to form normal attachments. inaccurately.
signs of disinhibited attachment, while children adopted before 6 months Hazen and Shaver (1987) studied the association between attachment
rarely showed this. and adult relationships.
+ Fewer extraneous variables - Correlation does not equal causation
While there were many orphan studies before They analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an American local
In studies where infant attachment type is
Zeanah et al (2005) the Romanian crisis, they usually involved newspaper. The quiz had 3 sections, to test their current/most important
associated with later relationships, the
children who had suffered trauma (e.g. loss or relationship, general experiences with love and their attachment type.
Around 100 children aged 12-31 months were used in the study. They results are usually correlational. There
had spent most of their lives in institutions (avg. 90%). abuse) before they were institutionalised. The may be other factors, aside from the 56% of participants were identified as secure, 25% as insecure-avoidant
Romanian studies have a higher internal and 19% as insecure-resistant. The secure respondents were more likely
The control group was 50 children who had never lived in an institution. internal working model, that influence
validity because they were able to study to have good and longer lasting relationships, while the avoidant
Their attachment type was measured using the strange situation, and both attachment type and later
institutionalisation without the participant respondents were more likely to show jealousy and fear of intimacy.
their carers were asked if they displayed signs of disinhibited attachment. relationships (e.g. parenting style).
confounding variables.
74% of the control group were securely attached, compared to only 19% Adult relationships (parental)
of the institutionalised group. 44% of the institutionalised group showed - Mixed evidence of continuity
- Romanian orphanages not typical Zimmerman (2000) found very little Internal working model affects how people parent their own children. As
signs of disinhibited attachment, compared to only 20% of the control.
Conditions in the Romanian institutions were people’s parenting style is based on their internal working model,
relationship between the quality of infant
so bad it might not be possible to generalise attachment type tends to be passed down through families. Bailey et al
and adolescent attachment.
Effects of institutionalisation the results to all institutions. For example, (2007) studied around 100 mothers and found that the majority of them
If internal working models affected our
• Disinhibited attachment they had extremely low levels of care and had the same attachment type to their children as they did to their own
relationships, we would expect to see
intellectual stimulation, which is not typical of mothers.
• Mental retardation continuity from childhood to adolescence.
most institutions.
BOWLBY’S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION The emotional and intellectual consequences of
separation between a child and their mother. Bowlby
Despite most psychologists being critical of this theory, there is some research that offers support. Levy
et al (2003) showed that separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had a permanent
effect on their social development, although it didn't appear to affect other areas of development.
proposed that continuous care from a mother is
Bowlby’s theory essential for normal psychological development, and However, the extent to which studies of rats can be applied to humans is debatable. It may not be
Separation vs deprivation that prolonged separation from this adult causes possible to generalise the results to humans.
Separation simply means the child is not in the presence of the primary serious damage to emotional and intellectual
attachment figure. Extended separation can lead to deprivation (they lose an development. - Counter evidence - Critical period may just be a sensitive period
element of her care), which causes harm to the child. There is counter evidence Bowlby suggested that prolonged separation during the critical period
from studies such as Lewis would inevitably cause damage. However, later research has shown that
Critical period 44 thieves study
(1954), who partially damage is not inevitable. Even severe cases of deprivation have shown
The first 30 months of life are seen as the critical period. If the child is deprived The sample consisted of 44 teenagers accused of
replicated the thieves good outcomes if the child is given good aftercare and social interaction
of its mother's care during this time, psychological damage will occur. stealing (thieves). Bowlby interviewed the thieves,
study on a much larger For example, Koluchova (1976) reported that a pair of deprived twin
looking for signs of affectionless psychopathy.
scale (500 participants). boys appeared to recover fully when looked after by two loving adults.
Their families were also interviewed, to see if the
In her study, there did not This suggests that the critical period may be more 'sensitive' but not
Effect on development thieves had prolonged separation from their mothers
seem to be a link between 'critical'.
Intellectual development as children. A control group of emotionally disturbed
prolonged separation
Bowlby suggested that children who were deprived during the critical period may teenagers, who were not thieves, was also set up.
from the mother and
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT
suffer intellectually. Goldfarb (1947) found that children who were fostered had a Bowlby found that 14 of the 44 thieves could be criminality or difficulty
higher IQ than children who remained in care. described as affectionless psychopaths. 12 had forming relationships.
Emotional development experienced prolonged separation from their
This is a limitation of
Bowlby suggested that deprived children may develop affectionless psychopathy - mothers as children. Of the control group, only 2 of
Bowlby's theory because Internal working model
the inability to feel guilt or empathy. This means they have problems building the 44 had experienced prolonged separation.
there may be other factors Bowlby (1969) suggested that a child’s first relationship, the one with
relationships and often leads to criminality. Bowlby concluded that maternal separation/ he did not address. their primary caregiver, forms a mental representation of what a
deprivation lead to affectionless psychopathy.
relationship should be like. This internal working model acts as a template
and shapes the child’s future relationships with others.
EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY
Children who have bad experiences of their first attachment will bring
that to later relationships. This means they might struggle to form
relationships in the first place or they might not behave appropriately
Rutter’s ERA (English & Romanian Adoptee) study (2011) when they do have them.
Rutter followed 165 Romanian orphans who were adopted in Britain, to
test the extend to which good care would make up for poor early
ATTACHMENT KNOWLEDGE ORGANISER (PART TWO) Childhood relationships
experiences in institutions. Their physical, cognitive and emotional Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in
development were assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 & 15 years old. A control later childhood. Securely attached infants tend to have good quality
+ Real life application - Most studies lack validity friendships, while insecurely attached infants don’t (Kerns 1994).
group was made up of 52 British children adopted at the same time.
Studying the Romanian orphans has lead to Most of the studies into the effect of early
Initially, around half the adoptee's showed delayed intellectual Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) found that securely attached children
improvements in the way children are cared attachments use a self-report interview or
development, and most were malnourished. By age 11, children showed are unlikely to be involved in bullying, insecure-resistant are more likely
for. E.g. children's homes now avoid having questionnaire. This means they may lack
varying levels of recovery (depending on adoption age). Children who to be victims and insecure-avoidant are more likely to be the bullies.
lots of carers for each child. Instead, a child validity because participants are not
were adopted at age < 6 months had higher IQ's than older children. will have 1 or 2 'key workers', allowing them always honest, or may remember things Adult relationships (romantic)
In terms of attachment, children adopted at 6 months or older showed to form normal attachments. inaccurately.
signs of disinhibited attachment, while children adopted before 6 months Hazen and Shaver (1987) studied the association between attachment
rarely showed this. and adult relationships.
+ Fewer extraneous variables - Correlation does not equal causation
While there were many orphan studies before They analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an American local
In studies where infant attachment type is
Zeanah et al (2005) the Romanian crisis, they usually involved newspaper. The quiz had 3 sections, to test their current/most important
associated with later relationships, the
children who had suffered trauma (e.g. loss or relationship, general experiences with love and their attachment type.
Around 100 children aged 12-31 months were used in the study. They results are usually correlational. There
had spent most of their lives in institutions (avg. 90%). abuse) before they were institutionalised. The may be other factors, aside from the 56% of participants were identified as secure, 25% as insecure-avoidant
Romanian studies have a higher internal and 19% as insecure-resistant. The secure respondents were more likely
The control group was 50 children who had never lived in an institution. internal working model, that influence
validity because they were able to study to have good and longer lasting relationships, while the avoidant
Their attachment type was measured using the strange situation, and both attachment type and later
institutionalisation without the participant respondents were more likely to show jealousy and fear of intimacy.
their carers were asked if they displayed signs of disinhibited attachment. relationships (e.g. parenting style).
confounding variables.
74% of the control group were securely attached, compared to only 19% Adult relationships (parental)
of the institutionalised group. 44% of the institutionalised group showed - Mixed evidence of continuity
- Romanian orphanages not typical Zimmerman (2000) found very little Internal working model affects how people parent their own children. As
signs of disinhibited attachment, compared to only 20% of the control.
Conditions in the Romanian institutions were people’s parenting style is based on their internal working model,
relationship between the quality of infant
so bad it might not be possible to generalise attachment type tends to be passed down through families. Bailey et al
and adolescent attachment.
Effects of institutionalisation the results to all institutions. For example, (2007) studied around 100 mothers and found that the majority of them
If internal working models affected our
• Disinhibited attachment they had extremely low levels of care and had the same attachment type to their children as they did to their own
relationships, we would expect to see
intellectual stimulation, which is not typical of mothers.
• Mental retardation continuity from childhood to adolescence.
most institutions.
