44 Thieves Study
John Bowlby
- Studied 44 adolescent juvenile delinquents in a child guidance center
- Had they suffered deprivation?
- Interviewed both parents and adolescents and prepared a control group
- More than half of the juvenile thieves had been separated from their mothers for longer than six months during their first five years.
- Behavior now influence by maternal deprivation
#4 Consequences
- Delinquency
- Reduced intelligence
- Increased aggression
- Depression
Who was John Bowlby?
- Graduated from University of Cambridge 1928
- Studied Developmental Psychology
- Volunteer work with children (orphans)
#2 Importance of first 2 years of life.
- Useless if the attachment is delayed
- 12 months - critical period
- Caregiver needs to set a secure bond early
- Irreversible long-term consequences
#1 A child has the need to attach to one main figure.
The Attachment Theory
- Usually the mother
- Needs to be primary
- Attachment leads to exploration
- Fundamental foundation with mothers
#3 Internal Working Model
Final Thoughts
Citations:
- Mental representation that guides future social and emotional behaviors
- Primary caregiver acts as prototype
- Around age 3 starts effecting personality
- Helps child understand the world, self, and others
- Attachment to caregivers is unique
- Bowlby is a great influence even today
- Revolutionized our thinking about a child’s tie to the mother
Bretherton, I. (1992). THE ORIGINS OF ATTACHMENT THEORY: JOHN BOWLBY AND MARY AINSWORTH. Developmental Psychology , , 759-775. Retrieved , from http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/online/inge_origins.pdf
McLeod, S. (2007, ). Simply Psychology . Bowlby's Attachment Theory. Retrieved September 20, 2013, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html
Deiner, P. (2009). Infants and Toddlers Development and Curriculum Planning (2 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning