Lesson 4.1.3.4

4.1.3.4 Maternal deprivation and institutionalisation Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 1

20 questions

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Lesson 4.1.3.4, Maternal deprivation and institutionalisation: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 1: Introductory topics in Psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which report by the World Health Organization was written by Bowlby and linked maternal deprivation to later problems?

    • Harlow's report on surrogate mothers
    • Lorenz's report on imprinting in geese
    • Bowlby's report on maternal care and mental health
    • Ainsworth's report on Strange Situation classifications

  2. What is the difference between maternal deprivation and privation, as described in attachment research?

    • Deprivation means never having formed an attachment, while privation means the loss of an attachment
    • Deprivation is the loss of an attachment figure, while privation is never having formed an attachment
    • Deprivation applies only to animals, while privation applies only to humans
    • They are two names for the same process with no difference

  3. Which study by Bowlby linked early separation from a mother to later affectionless psychopathy in young thieves?

    • Harlow's study of surrogate monkeys
    • Ainsworth's Strange Situation study
    • Bowlby's study of 44 juvenile thieves
    • Milgram's study of obedience

  4. What is affectionless psychopathy, according to Bowlby's work?

    • A tendency to form strong bonds with every adult met, which is seen as a healthy and positive outcome in young children
    • A lack of the ability to form caring relationships, linked to early separation from a mother
    • A learned fear of strangers that appears in late childhood, and which is most common in children raised by one parent
    • A genetic condition that causes intellectual disability, which is most often found in children with a family history

  5. What is institutionalisation in the context of attachment research?

    • A form of attachment that is found only in secure infants, with each child developing a single close relationship
    • The effects of growing up in a residential care setting with limited individual attention and few stable attachments
    • A type of insecure attachment seen in the Strange Situation, in which the infant avoids the caregiver after separation
    • A process in which a child is adopted into a family within the first month, so that every attachment is formed quickly

  6. Which study examined the effects of institutionalisation on Romanian children adopted into British families?

    • The cognitive interview study of eyewitness recall
    • The surrogate mothers study of contact comfort
    • The Strange Situation study of attachment types
    • The English and Romanian Adoptees project

  7. In the English and Romanian Adoptees project, what was found about children adopted before six months of age?

    • They were all placed in secure attachments immediately
    • They showed greater catch-up in development than those adopted later
    • They showed no catch-up in any area of development
    • They showed more disinhibited attachment than any other group

  8. Which symptom is described as disinhibited attachment in children from institutions?

    • Indiscriminate friendliness towards strangers and a lack of selective attachment to a particular person
    • Refusal to form any relationships with peers or adults, since the child avoids contact with all people in the institution
    • Constant clinging to one caregiver and distress when they leave the room, which is typical of secure attachment
    • Intense fear of all strangers and avoidance of all adults, which develops when infants are left alone for long periods

  9. Which effect of institutional care is linked to developmental delay in intellectual functioning?

    • Better memory span in all children who were institutionalised, since the lack of stimulation improved their concentration
    • Greater height and weight in every institutionalised child, because the institutions provided a richer diet than home
    • No effect on cognitive development in any study, since intelligence is fixed by genes and cannot be changed by experience
    • Cognitive impairment, including lower measured intelligence in children who spent long periods in institutions

  10. Which finding from the English and Romanian Adoptees project suggests that the effects of early deprivation may be reversed to some extent?

    • All children showed permanent cognitive impairment regardless of age at adoption
    • Children adopted late showed better development than those adopted early
    • Many children adopted early showed substantial recovery in development after adoption
    • No children showed any recovery after adoption

  11. Bowlby argued that maternal deprivation could have lasting effects. Which of these is an important criticism of this claim?

    • Bowlby's claims have been fully confirmed by all later research without exception
    • Bowlby's research was based on a controlled experiment with random allocation
    • Bowlby's research showed no link between deprivation and later behaviour
    • Bowlby's sample of thieves was not representative and his evidence was based on retrospective reports

  12. Which evaluation point applies to the research on institutionalisation?

    • Studies of institutionalised children are natural experiments with limited control
    • Studies of institutionalised children show that all children recover completely
    • Studies of institutionalised children have never been published
    • Studies of institutionalised children are always conducted with random allocation

  13. Why is it important to distinguish between privation and deprivation when interpreting the findings of the Romanian adoptee research?

    • The distinction only matters for children in Britain and not for children in Romania, because the samples differed by country
    • Privation refers to children who never formed attachments, so their outcomes may differ from children who lost an existing attachment
    • Privation and deprivation mean exactly the same thing, so the distinction is pointless and rarely used by researchers
    • The distinction is not used in attachment research at all, and the two terms are never found in published studies

  14. A child raised in an institution with little individual attention is later adopted at age three and shows indiscriminate friendliness towards strangers. Which concept best describes this?

    • Disinhibited attachment
    • Affectionless psychopathy
    • Insecure-avoidant attachment
    • Secure attachment

  15. A researcher compares children who were adopted before six months with children adopted after two years. Which result would be most consistent with the research on early deprivation?

    • The children adopted before six months show no difference from those adopted later
    • The two groups show identical outcomes in all areas
    • The children adopted before six months show better developmental outcomes overall
    • The children adopted after two years show better developmental outcomes overall

  16. Which statement about maternal deprivation and institutionalisation is accurate?

    • No effects of early deprivation are found in any research, since children recover fully in all studies done so far
    • Some effects of early deprivation can be reversed, while others may persist, depending on the timing and duration of the deprivation
    • Deprivation affects only the physical growth of children and not their relationships, which remain unaffected by early loss
    • All effects of early deprivation are fully reversible in every child, whatever the timing or length of the deprivation

  17. Which measure would be most useful for assessing the long-term effects of institutionalisation on a child?

    • A questionnaire completed by the child's caregiver after one week, which asks only about the child's eating habits
    • A longitudinal study that follows children over several years and assesses attachment, cognition and behaviour
    • A single interview with the child on the day of adoption, which records the child's first impressions of the new family
    • A single Strange Situation test on the day of entry to the institution, which is then used to predict later behaviour

  18. A child who was deprived of an attachment figure in early life shows distress and then gradually forms a new secure attachment in a new family. What does this best illustrate?

    • That attachment cannot form after early deprivation, so adopted children never develop any secure relationship at all
    • Some recovery from early deprivation, showing that effects may be reversible to some degree
    • That deprivation has no effect on the child's future relationships, since children always form the same bonds after adoption
    • That the child is permanently affectionless, and will never be able to form any caring relationship in later life

  19. Which combination of effects is most commonly linked with institutionalisation?

    • No effect on intelligence or attachment
    • Increased fear of all strangers and secure attachments
    • Intellectual impairment and disinhibited attachment
    • Greater independence and better memory span

  20. What is a key ethical issue in studies of institutionalised children?

    • Research with vulnerable children must balance the benefit of knowledge against the risk of harm and the need for consent from carers
    • There are no ethical issues because the children are not studied directly, and their carers take responsibility for all risks
    • Institutional children have no rights to privacy or protection, so researchers may gather any information they choose
    • Researchers must always deceive children in order to measure their attachment, since children cannot give consent to any study

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