John Bowlby
Also known as Edward John Mostyn Bowlby
British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded attachment theory.
At a glance
Roles
Attachment theory (Formulated the theory)
Main ideas
Attachment is built in, Separation hurts children, Real history over fantasy …
See all 5Books to start with
Maternal Care and Mental Health, Attachment (Attachment and Loss, vol. 1), Separation: Anxiety and Anger (vol. 2) …
See all 5Connections
Psychodynamic psychotherapy, A Secure Base and 6 others
See all 8
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Bowlby argued that a child's bond to a caregiver is an evolved survival system, not learned through feeding.
- He trained as a psychoanalyst but stressed real relationships over a child's fantasies.
- He drew on ethology, evolutionary biology and control systems theory.
- His work changed how hospitals and policy treat separated children.
Why it matters
- Attachment theory, which he founded, underlies attachment-based therapies for children, families, couples and adults.
Key facts
- Born
- 26 Feb 1907, London1
- Died
- 2 Sep 1990, Isle of Skye, Scotland1
- Known for
- Attachment theory1
- Worked at
- Tavistock Clinic (deputy director after the war); World Health Organization consultant from 19501
- Trained with
- Melanie Klein, his psychoanalytic supervisor1
- Ranking
- 49th most cited psychologist of the 20th century (Review of General Psychology, 2002)1
Roles
Main ideas
-
Attachment is built in1
The infant's tie to a caregiver emerged from evolutionary pressure as protection from danger; he rejected the "cupboard love" theory that it is learned through feeding.
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Separation hurts children1
In Forty-four Juvenile Thieves (1944), 17 of 44 young thieves had long early separations from their caregiver, against 2 of 44 controls.
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Real history over fantasy1
Unlike Klein, he emphasised the actual history of the child's relationship with the mother.
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Learning from animals1
He drew on ethologists such as Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen and Robert Hinde.
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Changing hospitals1
With James Robertson's 1952 film A Two-Year Old Goes to Hospital he helped campaign against limits on parents visiting children.
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
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Maternal Care and Mental Health1
His WHO report on homeless children in post-war Europe.
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Attachment (Attachment and Loss, vol. 1)1
The full statement of the theory.
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Separation: Anxiety and Anger (vol. 2)1
What happens when the bond is threatened.
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Loss: Sadness and Depression (vol. 3)1
Grief and mourning.
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Lectures applying attachment theory to therapy and family problems; the most accessible start.
Connections
Related
- Psychodynamic psychotherapyTopicTrained as a psychoanalyst, then moved beyond it toward observation
- Attachment Theory in Practice: Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) with Individuals, Couples, and FamiliesBookDraws on Bowlby's attachment theory
- Emotionally focused couples therapyTopicTreats partners' reactions as Bowlby's separation distress
- Mary AinsworthPersonWorked closely with him for over 40 years
- Sue JohnsonPersonRead partners' distress as Bowlby's separation distress
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
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The line under a date fills as time passes: empty when new, then one equal share each for a day, a week, a month and a year. For episodes and other items it is full at 2 years; for "last checked", at a year. A striped line means the date is known only to the month or year.