John Bowlby: Understanding his shadow …or, Why I dig Bowlby Daniel Berry Harvard Graduate School of Education November 18, 2005

Attachment Theory: Preface  Bowlby didn’t do it alone…  Mary Ainsworth  Long-time colleague  Developed the first Attachment measure (i.e., the Strange Situation)  Her original ideas tightened many of Bowlby’s thoughts, particularly in regard to maternal sensitivity.

Attachment Theory: The basics…  Attachment: The enduring deep emotional bond between a child and a specific caregiver  Endogenous attachment system within child, selected in the course of evolution

Please memorize this very important model now. Bischof’s (1975) General systems framework for attachment behavior.

Attachment Theory: The basics…  Attachment: The enduring deep emotional bond between a child and a specific caregiver  Endogenous attachment system within child, selected in the course of evolution  Over time, interactions with caregiver facilitate an internal working model (IWM) of the relationship.  In turn, the IWM shapes the way children explore and interpret their worlds.

Bowlby: The beginning  Edward John Mostyn Bowlby born in London on Feb. 26, 1907 to Sir Major-General Anthony and Mrs. May Bowlby  His father was an eminent surgeon, war hero, and personal physician to King Edward  His mother was raised in an upper-middle class family  The Bowlby’s enjoyed a comfortable, Edwardian, upper-class lifestyle

Bowlby: Early life  John is one of six children and quite close his brother Anthony, 13-months his elder  Typical family-life for their time and class: Raised by nannies, little contact with mom, and less with dad  At age 9, Bowlby and Anthony sent to boarding school (Lindisfarne). Bowlby’s opinion of boarding school: “…would not send a dog to boarding school at that age”

Bowlby: The academic spark  After short-stint in naval college, Bowlby heads to Trinity College, Cambridge  Enters as a med-student, concentrating on both natural sciences and the moral sciences (philosophy and psychology)  Finds himself drawn to psychology, which was largely dominated by Freudian thinking

Bowlby: The personal spark  Bowlby graduates and works in two progressive schools, Bedales and Priory Gate.  His interactions with children serve as the first spark for the notions of “separation” that would become Attachment Theory.

Bowlby: Finding himself  Med-School  Psychoanalytic Training –  PhD and work with the (in)famous Cyril Burt  The dissonance continues…

 In Med-School Bowlby opened a Sandwich shop called Bogey’s Bar!

Bowlby: Tavistock  WW II begins, Bowlby serves as Army psychiatrist  Colleagues he meets during this time become the “invisible college”  Operation Phoenix and the Tavistock Clinic

 John Bell, one of the first family therapists, devises a entire mode of therapy based on a mistaken understanding of Bowlby’s methods

Bowlby: Tavistock’s Dual-Mission  Bowlby is deep in his clinical work, but firmly agrees with the clinic’s creed, “No research without therapy; and no therapy without research”  The Separation Research Unit  The World Health Organization Report

Quick summary:  Bowlby as a kid who experiences separation with caregivers  Bowlby as a student who gets interested in child psychology through Freudian thinking  Bowlby as a teacher who notices the effect of separation on his students development  Bowlby as a psychoanalyst challenging some of the Freudian dogma  Bowlby as a researcher pursuing his interest in separation and pathology, yet still explaining mechanisms in Freudian terms

Bowlby: Birth of the cool  Bowlby discovers ethology  Raises the question of whether the formation of bonds between infants and caregivers is a product of evolution  If so, what might this species- specific system look like?

Bowlby’s Attachment & Loss Trilogy  Bowlby compiles both his and Ainsworth’s work on attachment into a grand theory of socio-emotional development  The theory was published across three volumes 1. Attachment (1969); 2. Separation (1973); and 3. Loss (1983)

Bowlby’s Attachment & Loss Trilogy  Humans genetically predisposed to actively construct attachment relationships  Attachment relationships are adaptive in that they facilitate a cognitive model based on ones’ specific ecological context  This adaptation to specific environments has survival value for individuals  Internal models serve as an adaptive guide for navigating the social world and, therefore, affect long-term developmental directories

Should we buy it?  Evolutionary arguments are hard to substantiate without archeological evidence…  Non-human primate and behavioral genetic research, does not contradict an evolutionary argument for attachment  Early attachment has been linked to a wide array of developmental outcomes (i.e., achievement and socio-emotional)

Why should educators care?  Children learn in social contexts  They bring their attachment histories with them and, in turn, these influence the way children form new relationships with teachers and peers  Understanding these individual differences allows educators support children’s learning

Bowlby loved education!  “It is impossible to estimate the scope and value of work in education, work that has been touched on by most geniuses and has been taken for granted by fools.”

References: Ainsworth, M. & Bowlby, J. (1991). An ethological approach to personality development. American Psychologist, 46(4), Bowlby, J. (1951). Maternal care and mental health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1.Attachment. New York: Basic Books. Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2.Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3 Loss: Sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books. Holmes, J. (1993). John Bowlby and attachment theory. London: Routledge. van Dijken, S. (1998). John Bowlby: His early life—a biographical journey into the roots of Attachment Theory. New York: Free Association books.