John Bowlby: Understanding his shadow

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

2. 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.

3. 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

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

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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”

8. 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

9. 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.

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

11. Bowlby Fun-Fact!!! Amaze your Friends!!!! • In Med-School Bowlby opened a Sandwich shop called Bogey’s Bar!

12. 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

13. Bowlby Fun-Fact!!! Knowledge that will make you more attractive!!! • John Bell, one of the first family therapists, devises a entire mode of therapy based on a mistaken understanding of Bowlby’s methods

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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?

17. 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)

18. 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

19. 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)

20. 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

21. 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.”

22. References: Ainsworth, M. & Bowlby, J. (1991). An ethological approach to personality development. American Psychologist, 46(4), 333-341. 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.