+ Further research has supported Bowlby's Maternal Deprivation Theory. For example, Goldfarb (1955) followed up 30 war orphaned children to age 12. Of his original sample, half had been fostered by the age of 4 whilst the other half remained in the orphanage. At the age of 12, both groups of orphans' IQ was tested. The group that was fostered had an average IQ of 96, whereas the group that wasn't fostered by the age of 4 had an average IQ of 68. This is a strength because Goldfarb's findings reiterate the main assumptions of Bowlby's theory, showing that early separation and the deprivation can lead to long-lasting effects on infant development and development in later life.
- However, Bowlby's findings from the 44 thieves study can be criticised for investigator bias. For example, other psychologists have suggested that Bowlby's study had some major design flaws and most importantly, bias. Bowlby himself carried out the investigation, the individual assessments for affectionless psychopathology, and the family interviews, knowing what he hoped to find. Developmental psychologists have suggested that Bowlby may have interpreted the findings in a biased way in order to generate support for his theory. This is problematic because, if Bowlby's findings have been affected by investigator bias, this will mean that his theory is based on biased results and therefore can be criticised as being inaccurate.
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