Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?
A Research Proposal
Keywords:
attachment theory, psychoanalysis, John Bowlby
Abstract
Attachment theory, postulated by John Bowlby in collaboration with psychologists Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow, has been the subject of much discussion about its nature. The author considers it a psychoanalytical theory, but his peers in psychoanalysis at the time rejected this idea and offered criticism of his concepts, suggesting that they were not in alignment with the principles of psychoanalysis. At the same time, collaborators Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow have repeatedly questioned the necessity of Bowlby’s choice of psychoanalysis as a basis for attachment theory, suggesting that it may not be the most appropriate approach. Lately, attachment theory has been used in many psychology courses and articles, without so much as a single mention to its psychoanalytical nature. This article presents a research proposal for an investigation of the nature of attachment theory on a conceptual level. It poses the question of whether the concepts used as a basis for attachment theory are consistent with psychoanalysis.
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References
Ainsworth, M. (1978). The Bowlby-Ainsworth attachment theory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(3): 436–438.
Ainsworth, M. S. (1979). Infant–mother attachment. American Psychologist, 34(10): 932–937.
Ainsworth, M. S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44(4): 709–716.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of Attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ainsworth, M. S., & Bowlby, J. (1991). An ethological approach to personality development. American Psychologist, 46(4): 333.
Ainsworth, M. D. S. and Marvin, R. S. (1995). On the shaping of attachment theory and research: An interview with Mary D. S. Ainsworth. In E. Waters, B. E. Vaughn, G. Posada, & K. Kondo-Ikemura (eds). Caregiving, cultural, and cognitive perspectives on secure-base behavior and working models: New growing points of attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 60(2–3): 3–21.
Bowlby, J. (1940a). Visiting in children’s wards. The Lancet, 235(6076): 291.
Bowlby, J. (1940b). The influence of early environment in the development of neurosis and neurotic character. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 21: 154–178.
Bowlby, J. (1951). Maternal care and mental health. World Health Organization.
Bowlby, J. (1953). Critical phases in the development of social responses in man and other animals. New Biology, 14: 25–32.
Bowlby, J. (1957). An ethological approach to research in child development. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 30: 230–240.
Bowlby, J. (1960a). Rief and mourning in infancy and early childhood. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 15(1): 9–52.
Bowlby, J. (1960b). Ethology and the development of object relations. International Journal of PsychoAnalysis, 41: 313–317.
Bowlby, J. (1960c). Symposium on 'Psycho-Analysis and Ethology' II. Ethology and the development of object relations. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 41: 313–317.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss - Attachment (Vol. I). London: Hogarth.
Bowlby, J. (1973a). Attachment and loss - Loss – Sadness and Depression (Vol. III). Instituto Tavistock.
Bowlby, J. (1973b). Attachment and loss - Separation – Anxiety and Anger (Vol. II). Instituto Tavistock.
Bowlby, J. (1976). Human personality development in an ethological light. In G. Serban, & A. Kling (Eds.), Animal models in human psychobiology (pp. 27-36). New York: Plenum Press.
Bowlby, J. (1980). By ethology out of psycho-analysis: An experiment in interbreeding. Animal Behavior, 28(3): 649–656.
Bowlby, J. (1981). Psychoanalysis as a natural science. International Review of Psycho-Analysis, 8: 243–256.
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(4): 664–678
Bowlby, J. (1991). Ethological light on psychoanalytical problems. Em P. Bateson (Ed.), The development and integration of behaviour. Essays in honor of Robert Hinde. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 301–313.
Bowlby, J., Ainsworth, M., Boston, M., & Rosenbluth, D. (1956). The effects of mother-child separation: A follow-up study. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 29: 211–247.
Bowlby, J., Figlio, K., & Young, R. M. (1986). An interview with John Bowlby on the origins and reception of his work. Free Associations, 6: 36–64.
Bowlby, J., Miller, E., & Winnicott, D. W. (1939). Evacuation of small children. Letter to the editor. British Medical Journal, December 16: 1202–1203.
Burlingham, D., & Freud, A. (1942). Young children in war-time. Oxford, England: Allen & Unwin.
Burlingham, D., & Freud, A. (1944). Infants without families. Oxford, England: Allen & Unwin.
Campos, É. B. (2021). Delineamento de pesquisa no campo psicanalítico: Uma proposição sintética. Psicologia Clínica, 3: 487–505.
Caropreso, F. (2010). Metapsicologia, psicologia, neuropsicologia: Considerações acerca do sentido da reflexão metapsicológica no pensamento freudiano. In R. T. Simanke, A. J. Menéndez, F. Caropreso, I. Barbelli, & J. C. Bocchi, Filosofia da psicanálise: Autores, diálogos, problemas. EdUFSCar, pp. 133–154.
Dinnage, R. (1979). John Bowlby. New Society, May 10: 323–325.
Eagle, M. (1997), Attachment and psychoanalysis. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 70: 217–229.
Fonagy, P. (2001). Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis (1st ed.). London: Routledge.
Fonagy, P., & Campbell, C. (2015), Bad Blood Revisited: Attachment and Psychoanalysis, 2015. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 31: 229–250.
Freud, A. (1960). Discussion of Dr. John Bowlby's paper. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 15(1): 53–62.
Freud, S. (1895). Project for a scientific psychology. S.E., I. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. In S.E., 7. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1917). Introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. In S.E., 15–16. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. In S.E., 18, 3–64 London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1910). Five lectures on psycho-analysis. S.E., II. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1914). On narcissism: An introduction. S.E., 14. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1915a). Instincts and their vicissitudes. S.E., 14. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1915b). Repression. S.E., 14. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1921). Group psychology and the analysis of the ego. S.E., 18. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1922). Psycho-analysis. S.E., 18. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1940). An outline of psycho-analysis. S.E., 23. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1926). Inhibitions, symptoms and anxiety. S.E., 20. London: Hogarth Press.
Garfield, E. (1978). The 100 most-cited SSCI authors. 2. A catalog of their awards and academy memberships. Essays of an Information Scientist, 3(45): 675–685.
Harlow, H. F., & Zimmermann, R. R. (1959). Affectional response in the infant monkey: Orphaned baby monkeys develop a strong and persistent attachment to inanimate surrogate mothers. Science, 130(3373): 421–432.
Hinde, R. A. (1982). Attachment: Some conceptual and biological issues. In C. M. Parkes and J. Stevenson-Hinde (eds), The Place of Attachment in Human Behavior. New York: Basic Books, pp. 60–76.
Hinde, R. A. (1991). Relationships, attachment, and culture: A tribute to John Bowlby. Infant Mental Health Journal, 12(3): 154–163.
Hinde, R. A. (2005). Ethology and attachment theory. In K. Grossmann, K. E. Grossmann, and E. Waters (eds), Attachment from Infancy to Adulthood: The Major Longitudinal Studies The Guilford Press, pp. 1–12.
Holmes, J. (2000). Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis: A Rapprochement. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 17: 157–172.
Hrdy, S. B. (1999). Mother nature: A history of mothers, infants, and natural selection. New York: Pantheon Books.
Karen, R. (1994). Becoming attached: Unfolding the mystery of the infant-mother bond and its impact on later life. New York: Warner Books.
Laurenti, C., Lopes, C. E., Araújo, S. D., & Lauro, M. M. (2016). Pesquisa teórica em psicologia: aspectos filosóficos e metodológicos. Psicologia em Pesquisa, 1: 103–104.
Meyer, J. S., Novak, M. A., Bowman, R. E. & Harlow, H. F. (1975), Behavioral and hormonal effects of attachment object separation in surrogate-peer-reared and mother-reared infant rhesus monkeys. Developmental Psychobiology, 8: 425–435.
Palombo, J., Bendicsen, H. K., & Koch, B. J. (2009). Guide to psychoanalytic developmental theories. New York: Springer.
Popper, K. (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. [English translation of Logic der Forschung zur Erkenntnis]. London: Routledge. (Original work published in 1935).
Ramires, V. R. R., & Schneider, M. S. (2010). Revisitando alguns Conceitos da Teoria do Apego: Comportamento versus Representação? Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 26(1): 25–33.
Rapaport, D., & Gill, M. M. (1959) The points of view and assumptions of metapsychology, the collected papers of David Rapaport (Ed. M. M. Gill). Basic.
Schur, M. (1960) Discussion of Dr. John Bowlby's paper. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 15(1): 63–84,
Slade, A. (2000). The development and organization of attachment: Implications for Psychoanalysis. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 48(4): 1147–1174.
Spitz, R. A. (1945). Hospitalism. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 1: 53–74.
Spitz, R. A. (1946). Anaclitic depression. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 2: 313–342.
Spitz, R. A. (1960). Discussion of Dr. Bowlby's paper. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 15(1): 85–94.
Tidd, C. W. (1960). Symposium on 'Psycho-Analysis and Ethology' I. Introduction. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 41: 308–312.
van der Horst, F. C. (2008). John Bowlby and ethology: A study of cross-fertilization.
van der Horst, F. C. (2011). John Bowlby – From psychoanalysis to ethology: Unraveling the roots of attachment theory. Wiley-Blackwell.
Vicedo, M. (2009a). Mothers, machines, and morals: Harry Harlow’s work on primate love from lab to legend. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 45(3): 193–218.
Vicedo, M. (2009b). The father of ethology and the foster mother of ducks: Konrad Lorenz as expert on motherhood. Isis, 100(2): 263–291.
Ainsworth, M. S. (1979). Infant–mother attachment. American Psychologist, 34(10): 932–937.
Ainsworth, M. S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44(4): 709–716.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of Attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ainsworth, M. S., & Bowlby, J. (1991). An ethological approach to personality development. American Psychologist, 46(4): 333.
Ainsworth, M. D. S. and Marvin, R. S. (1995). On the shaping of attachment theory and research: An interview with Mary D. S. Ainsworth. In E. Waters, B. E. Vaughn, G. Posada, & K. Kondo-Ikemura (eds). Caregiving, cultural, and cognitive perspectives on secure-base behavior and working models: New growing points of attachment theory and research. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 60(2–3): 3–21.
Bowlby, J. (1940a). Visiting in children’s wards. The Lancet, 235(6076): 291.
Bowlby, J. (1940b). The influence of early environment in the development of neurosis and neurotic character. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 21: 154–178.
Bowlby, J. (1951). Maternal care and mental health. World Health Organization.
Bowlby, J. (1953). Critical phases in the development of social responses in man and other animals. New Biology, 14: 25–32.
Bowlby, J. (1957). An ethological approach to research in child development. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 30: 230–240.
Bowlby, J. (1960a). Rief and mourning in infancy and early childhood. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 15(1): 9–52.
Bowlby, J. (1960b). Ethology and the development of object relations. International Journal of PsychoAnalysis, 41: 313–317.
Bowlby, J. (1960c). Symposium on 'Psycho-Analysis and Ethology' II. Ethology and the development of object relations. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 41: 313–317.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss - Attachment (Vol. I). London: Hogarth.
Bowlby, J. (1973a). Attachment and loss - Loss – Sadness and Depression (Vol. III). Instituto Tavistock.
Bowlby, J. (1973b). Attachment and loss - Separation – Anxiety and Anger (Vol. II). Instituto Tavistock.
Bowlby, J. (1976). Human personality development in an ethological light. In G. Serban, & A. Kling (Eds.), Animal models in human psychobiology (pp. 27-36). New York: Plenum Press.
Bowlby, J. (1980). By ethology out of psycho-analysis: An experiment in interbreeding. Animal Behavior, 28(3): 649–656.
Bowlby, J. (1981). Psychoanalysis as a natural science. International Review of Psycho-Analysis, 8: 243–256.
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(4): 664–678
Bowlby, J. (1991). Ethological light on psychoanalytical problems. Em P. Bateson (Ed.), The development and integration of behaviour. Essays in honor of Robert Hinde. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 301–313.
Bowlby, J., Ainsworth, M., Boston, M., & Rosenbluth, D. (1956). The effects of mother-child separation: A follow-up study. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 29: 211–247.
Bowlby, J., Figlio, K., & Young, R. M. (1986). An interview with John Bowlby on the origins and reception of his work. Free Associations, 6: 36–64.
Bowlby, J., Miller, E., & Winnicott, D. W. (1939). Evacuation of small children. Letter to the editor. British Medical Journal, December 16: 1202–1203.
Burlingham, D., & Freud, A. (1942). Young children in war-time. Oxford, England: Allen & Unwin.
Burlingham, D., & Freud, A. (1944). Infants without families. Oxford, England: Allen & Unwin.
Campos, É. B. (2021). Delineamento de pesquisa no campo psicanalítico: Uma proposição sintética. Psicologia Clínica, 3: 487–505.
Caropreso, F. (2010). Metapsicologia, psicologia, neuropsicologia: Considerações acerca do sentido da reflexão metapsicológica no pensamento freudiano. In R. T. Simanke, A. J. Menéndez, F. Caropreso, I. Barbelli, & J. C. Bocchi, Filosofia da psicanálise: Autores, diálogos, problemas. EdUFSCar, pp. 133–154.
Dinnage, R. (1979). John Bowlby. New Society, May 10: 323–325.
Eagle, M. (1997), Attachment and psychoanalysis. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 70: 217–229.
Fonagy, P. (2001). Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis (1st ed.). London: Routledge.
Fonagy, P., & Campbell, C. (2015), Bad Blood Revisited: Attachment and Psychoanalysis, 2015. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 31: 229–250.
Freud, A. (1960). Discussion of Dr. John Bowlby's paper. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 15(1): 53–62.
Freud, S. (1895). Project for a scientific psychology. S.E., I. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. In S.E., 7. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1917). Introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. In S.E., 15–16. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. In S.E., 18, 3–64 London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1910). Five lectures on psycho-analysis. S.E., II. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1914). On narcissism: An introduction. S.E., 14. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1915a). Instincts and their vicissitudes. S.E., 14. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1915b). Repression. S.E., 14. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1921). Group psychology and the analysis of the ego. S.E., 18. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1922). Psycho-analysis. S.E., 18. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1940). An outline of psycho-analysis. S.E., 23. London: Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1926). Inhibitions, symptoms and anxiety. S.E., 20. London: Hogarth Press.
Garfield, E. (1978). The 100 most-cited SSCI authors. 2. A catalog of their awards and academy memberships. Essays of an Information Scientist, 3(45): 675–685.
Harlow, H. F., & Zimmermann, R. R. (1959). Affectional response in the infant monkey: Orphaned baby monkeys develop a strong and persistent attachment to inanimate surrogate mothers. Science, 130(3373): 421–432.
Hinde, R. A. (1982). Attachment: Some conceptual and biological issues. In C. M. Parkes and J. Stevenson-Hinde (eds), The Place of Attachment in Human Behavior. New York: Basic Books, pp. 60–76.
Hinde, R. A. (1991). Relationships, attachment, and culture: A tribute to John Bowlby. Infant Mental Health Journal, 12(3): 154–163.
Hinde, R. A. (2005). Ethology and attachment theory. In K. Grossmann, K. E. Grossmann, and E. Waters (eds), Attachment from Infancy to Adulthood: The Major Longitudinal Studies The Guilford Press, pp. 1–12.
Holmes, J. (2000). Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis: A Rapprochement. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 17: 157–172.
Hrdy, S. B. (1999). Mother nature: A history of mothers, infants, and natural selection. New York: Pantheon Books.
Karen, R. (1994). Becoming attached: Unfolding the mystery of the infant-mother bond and its impact on later life. New York: Warner Books.
Laurenti, C., Lopes, C. E., Araújo, S. D., & Lauro, M. M. (2016). Pesquisa teórica em psicologia: aspectos filosóficos e metodológicos. Psicologia em Pesquisa, 1: 103–104.
Meyer, J. S., Novak, M. A., Bowman, R. E. & Harlow, H. F. (1975), Behavioral and hormonal effects of attachment object separation in surrogate-peer-reared and mother-reared infant rhesus monkeys. Developmental Psychobiology, 8: 425–435.
Palombo, J., Bendicsen, H. K., & Koch, B. J. (2009). Guide to psychoanalytic developmental theories. New York: Springer.
Popper, K. (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. [English translation of Logic der Forschung zur Erkenntnis]. London: Routledge. (Original work published in 1935).
Ramires, V. R. R., & Schneider, M. S. (2010). Revisitando alguns Conceitos da Teoria do Apego: Comportamento versus Representação? Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 26(1): 25–33.
Rapaport, D., & Gill, M. M. (1959) The points of view and assumptions of metapsychology, the collected papers of David Rapaport (Ed. M. M. Gill). Basic.
Schur, M. (1960) Discussion of Dr. John Bowlby's paper. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 15(1): 63–84,
Slade, A. (2000). The development and organization of attachment: Implications for Psychoanalysis. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 48(4): 1147–1174.
Spitz, R. A. (1945). Hospitalism. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 1: 53–74.
Spitz, R. A. (1946). Anaclitic depression. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 2: 313–342.
Spitz, R. A. (1960). Discussion of Dr. Bowlby's paper. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 15(1): 85–94.
Tidd, C. W. (1960). Symposium on 'Psycho-Analysis and Ethology' I. Introduction. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 41: 308–312.
van der Horst, F. C. (2008). John Bowlby and ethology: A study of cross-fertilization.
van der Horst, F. C. (2011). John Bowlby – From psychoanalysis to ethology: Unraveling the roots of attachment theory. Wiley-Blackwell.
Vicedo, M. (2009a). Mothers, machines, and morals: Harry Harlow’s work on primate love from lab to legend. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 45(3): 193–218.
Vicedo, M. (2009b). The father of ethology and the foster mother of ducks: Konrad Lorenz as expert on motherhood. Isis, 100(2): 263–291.
Published
2024-11-10
How to Cite
Goliath, M., & Theisen Simanke, R. (2024). Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?. Critical Hermeneutics, 8(2), 239-257. https://doi.org/10.13125/CH/6175
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Copyright (c) 2024 Michelle Vianna Goliath, Richard Theisen Simanke
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