The American contribution to attachment theory: John Bowlby's WHO trip to the USA in 1950 and the development of his ideas on separation and attachment.

This paper explores John Bowlby's foundational contributions to attachment theory, particularly his fascination with 'separation' and its impact on child development. Tracing the origins of Bowlby's interest to his personal experiences and his exposure to ideas of mental hygiene and child guidance in the 1930s, it underscores the alignment of his ideas with key figures in the English school of psychoanalysis. The central narrative of this paper unfolds during Bowlby's 1950 WHO research trip, investigating orphaned and separated children in Europe and the USA. Utilizing archival materials from the Wellcome Library in London, the authors offer unique insights into Bowlby's journey, highlighting his evolving views on mother-child separation through interactions with his American colleagues. This comprehensive exploration sheds light on Bowlby's pioneering work, emphasizing the American influence on his ideas, and the evolving theoretical framework that continues to shape our understanding of child development and attachment today.

Vygotsky's Legacy: Understanding and Beyond.

The article sketches the history of the study of Vygotsky's legacy in the Soviet Union and the West and then switches to a brief discussion of the origin of the book Understanding Vygotsky published 30 years ago. Several features and shortcomings of the book are discussed and it is shown that recent publications partly fill the gaps in our knowledge. This is illustrated by a succinct discussion of the contributions to the special issue which show that Vygotsky's legacy continues to inspire the modern researcher.

Such stuff as dreams are made on: John Bowlby and the interpretation of dreams.

In this paper, newly uncovered archival material from the Bowlby archives is presented on Bowlby's own dreams and dream interpretation. Although he was critical of orthodox psychoanalysis, Bowlby appears to have been seriously involved in Freudian dream interpretation in the 1930s and 1940s. Here, we present in annotated form his own interpretations of several of his dreams from that time and a series of lectures on dreams. In Attachment and Loss, classic dream interpretation is absent and Bowlby used the content of dreams as a reflection of the influence of real-life experiences on the representations of attachment relations, with a clear focus on grief, loss, and mourning. Bowlby's shift from psychoanalysis to a more behavioral approach and the introduction of the concept of "defensive exclusion" to supplant Freud's concept of "repression" may have led him to think about how grief and mourning may affect the content of our dreams.

The nature of love: Harlow, Bowlby and Bettelheim on affectionless mothers.

Harry Harlow, famous for his experiments with rhesus monkeys and cloth and wire mothers, was visited by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby and by child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim in 1958. They made similar observations of Harlow's monkeys, yet their interpretations were strikingly different. Bettelheim saw Harlow's wire mother as a perfect example of the 'refrigerator mother', causing autism in her child, while Bowlby saw Harlow's results as an explanation of how socio-emotional development was dependent on responsiveness of the mother to the child's biological needs. Bettelheim's solution was to remove the mother, while Bowlby specifically wanted to involve her in treatment. Harlow was very critical of Bettelheim, but evaluated Bowlby's work positively.

A tale of four countries: How Bowlby used his trip through Europe to write the WHO report and spread his ideas.

Attachment theory, developed by child psychiatrist John Bowlby, is considered a major theory in developmental psychology. Attachment theory can be seen as resulting from Bowlby's personal experiences, his psychoanalytic education, his subsequent study of ethology, and societal developments during the 1930s and 1940s. One of those developments was the outbreak of World War II and its effects on children's psychological wellbeing. In 1950, Bowlby was appointed WHO consultant to study the needs of children who were orphaned or separated from their families for other reasons and needed care in foster homes or institutions. The resulting report is generally considered a landmark publication in psychology, although it subsequently met with methodological criticism. In this paper, by reconstructing Bowlby's visit to several European countries, on the basis of notebooks and letters, the authors shed light on the background of this report and the way Bowlby used or neglected the findings he gathered.

Research notes: John Bowlby's critical evaluation of the work of René Spitz.

In the history of psychology and theoretical discourse on the socioemotional development of children, the names Bowlby and Spitz are often mentioned in tandem. Both men were hugely interested in research on the consequences of maternal deprivation for young infants. However, though they would appear to have been thinking along the same lines and often referenced each other's work, it turns out they held very different views on the dynamic assessment and theoretical underpinning of their observations (Bowlby, 1960; Spitz, 1960). Even though some of this became public when they criticized each other after Bowlby's publication in 1960, newly uncovered archival material1 detailing Bowlby's reflections on several meetings with Spitz enables us to look more closely at their differences of opinion. These meetings took place in the spring of 1950, when Bowlby visited the United States for a research project for the World Health Organization (WHO). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Not by bread alone: Lev Vygotsky's Jewish writings.

On the basis of both published and unpublished manuscripts written from 1914 to 1917, this article gives an overview of Lev Vygotsky's early ideas. It turns out that Vygotsky was very much involved in issues of Jewish culture and politics. Rather surprisingly, the young Vygotsky rejected all contemporary ideas to save the Jewish people from discrimination and persecution by creating an autonomous state in Palestine or elsewhere. Instead, until well into 1917, Vygotsky proposed the rather traditional option of strengthening the spiritual roots of the Jews by returning to the religious writings. Socialism was rejected, because it merely envisioned the compulsory redistribution of material goods and 'man lives not by bread alone'. It was only after the October Revolution that Vygotsky switched from arguments in favour of the religious faith in the Kingship of God to the communist belief in a Radiant Future.

The final chapter of Vygotsky's Thinking and Speech: A reader's guide.

The seventh and last chapter of Vygotsky's Thinking and Speech (1934) is generally considered as his final word in psychology. It is a long chapter with a complex argumentative structure in which Vygotsky gives his view on the relationship between thinking and speech. Vygotsky's biographers have stated that the chapter was dictated in the final months of Vygotsky's life when his health was rapidly deteriorating. Although the chapter is famous, its structure has never been analyzed in any detail. In the present article we reveal its rhetorical structure and show how Vygotsky drew on many hitherto unrevealed sources to convince the reader of his viewpoint.

From secure dependency to attachment: Mary Ainsworth's integration of Blatz's security theory into Bowlby's attachment theory.

John Bowlby is generally regarded as the founder of attachment theory, with the help of Mary Ainsworth. Through her Uganda and Baltimore studies Ainsworth provided empirical evidence for attachment theory, and she contributed the notion of the secure base and exploratory behavior, the Strange Situation Procedure and its classification system, and the notion of maternal sensitivity. On closer scrutiny, many of these contributions appear to be heavily influenced by William Blatz and his security theory. Even though Blatz's influence on Ainsworth has been generally acknowledged, this article, partly based on understudied correspondence from several personal archives, is the first to show which specific parts of attachment theory can be traced back directly to Blatz and his security theory. When Ainsworth started working with Bowlby in the 1950s, around the time he turned to evolutionary theory for an explanation of his findings, she integrated much of Blatzian security theory into Bowlby's theory in the making and used her theoretical and practical experience to enrich attachment theory. Even though Blatz is hardly mentioned nowadays, several of his ideas live on in attachment theory.

AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION PROCEDURE: THE ORIGIN OF AN INSTRUMENT.

The American-Canadian psychologist Mary Ainsworth (1913-1999) developed the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to measure mother-child attachment and attachment theorists have used it ever since. When Ainsworth published the first results of the SSP in 1969, it seemed a completely novel and unique instrument. However, in this paper we will show that the SSP had many precursors and that the road to such an instrument was long and winding. Our analysis of hitherto little-known studies on children in strange situations allowed us to compare these earlier attempts with the SSP. We argue that it was the combination of Ainsworth's working experience with William Blatz and John Bowlby, her own research in Uganda and Baltimore, and the strong connection of the SSP with attachment theory, that made the SSP differ enough from the other strange situation studies to become one of the most widely used instruments in developmental psychology today.

From foundling homes to day care: a historical review of childcare in Chile.

This article discusses significant changes in childcare policy and practice in Chile. We distinguish four specific periods of childcare history: child abandonment and the creation of foundling homes in the 19th century; efforts to reduce infant mortality and the creation of the health care system in the first half of the 20th century; an increasing focus on inequality and poverty and the consequences for child development in the second half of the 20th century; and, finally, the current focus on children's social and emotional development. It is concluded that, although Chile has achieved infant mortality and malnutrition rates comparable to those of developed countries, the country bears the mark of a history of inequality and is still unable to fully guarantee the health of children from the poorest sectors of society. Recent initiatives seek to improve this situation and put a strong emphasis on the psychosocial condition of children and their families.

From foundling homes to day care: a historical review of childcare in Chile / Desde la casa de expósitos a las salas cuna: revisión histórica del cuidado infantil en Chile / Desde a casa de crianças expostas para a creche: revisão histórica da puericultura no Chile

This article discusses significant changes in childcare policy and practice in Chile. We distinguish four specific periods of childcare history: child abandonment and the creation of foundling homes in the 19th century; efforts to reduce infant mortality and the creation of the health care system in the first half of the 20th century; an increasing focus on inequality and poverty and the consequences for child development in the second half of the 20th century; and, finally, the current focus on children’s social and emotional development. It is concluded that, although Chile has achieved infant mortality and malnutrition rates comparable to those of developed countries, the country bears the mark of a history of inequality and is still unable to fully guarantee the health of children from the poorest sectors of society. Recent initiatives seek to improve this situation and put a strong emphasis on the psychosocial condition of children and their families.

El artículo discute cambios significativos en políticas y prácticas del cuidado infantil en Chile. Se distinguen cuatro períodos históricos en los cuidados infantiles con las siguientes características: abandono infantil y la creación de la casa de expósitos en el siglo XIX; esfuerzos por disminuir la mortalidad infantil y la introducción de un sistema de salud en la primera mitad del siglo XX; un incremento en la atención de la desigualdad y la pobreza y sus consecuencias para el desarrollo infantil en la segunda mitad del siglo XX; y finalmente, una focalización en el desarrollo socioemocional de los niños. Se concluye que, aunque Chile ha alcanzado niveles de mortalidad infantil y desnutrición comparables a países desarrollados, todavía queda la marca de una historia de desigualdades que no permite garantizar completamente la salud de los niños más pobres. Recientes iniciativas tratan de mejorar esta situación y ponen un fuerte énfasis en las condiciones psicosociales de los niños y sus familias.

O artigo discute as mudanças significativas nas políticas e práticas sobre cuidado infantil, no Chile. Quatro períodos históricos foram estabelecidos, levando em consideração as seguintes características: abandono da criança e a criação de casas de crianças expostas no século XIX; esforços para reduzir a mortalidade infantil e a implementação de sistemas de cuidados de saúde na primeira metade do século XX; maior atenção à desigualdade e à pobreza, bem como as consequências que estas ações trouxeram para o desenvolvimento das crianças, na segunda metade do século XX; e, finalmente, a ênfase no desenvolvimento socioemocional das crianças. Conclui-se que, embora o Chile tenha alcançado taxas de mortalidade infantil e de desnutrição comparáveis às dos países desenvolvidos, há, ainda, indicadores históricos de desigualdade, que resultam na redução das garantias de acesso à saúde pública das crianças mais pobres. Iniciativas recentes procuram melhorar a situação e colocar a ênfase sobre as condições psicossociais de crianças e suas famílias.

Teorías subjetivas en libros latinoamericanos de crianza, acerca de la educación emocional / Subjective theories in Latin Americans parenting books, about emotional education

En este artículo reportamos los hallazgos encontrados en un estudio acerca de las teorías subjetivas o personales presentes en una muestra constituida por nueve libros latinoamericanos con consejos para padres y madres, basados en la educación emocional de los hijos y de las hijas. Objetivo: describir las teorías subjetivas presentes en los libros latinoamerica-nos con consejos para padres y madres, específicamente acerca de la educación emocional de sus hijas e hijos en la primera infancia. Metodología: Esta investigación fue de carácter cualitativo, con aportes de la escuela Grounded Theory (teoría fundamentada), mediante un análisis apoyado por codificación abierta y codificación temática. Resultados y conclusiones: Encontramos tres principales categorías de códigos: 1) Estimulación del desarrollo afectivo o emocional; 2) formación moral y 3) rol de los padres y de las madres, planteadas con algo de alarmismo y determinismo psi-cológico, respecto de la infancia sobre los conflictos psicológicos de la adultez.

Of monkeys and men: Spitz and Harlow on the consequences of maternal deprivation.

In this contribution the reciprocal influence of Harlow and Spitz concerning the consequences of maternal deprivation of monkeys and men, respectively, is described. On the basis of recently disclosed correspondence between Harlow and Spitz, it is argued that not only was Spitz's work on hospitalism an inspiration for Harlow to start his cloth and wire surrogate work with rhesus monkeys but, at the same time, Harlow's work was a new impetus for Spitz's work on the sexual development of (deprived) infants. It is described how the two men first established personal contact in the early 1960s, after Harlow had published his first surrogate papers, how they became close friends subsequently, and inspired each other mutually.

In search of the unknown: introduction to the special issue.

The problem of aesthetic perception occupied Vygotsky throughout his life. Working in different research collectives or networks he worked out different answers but never reached a final solution. Inadequate and incomplete access to his writings unfortunately hinders us from understanding Vygotsky's ideas and his personal motives. Publication of his notebooks and unadulterated versions of his writings plus an analysis of his research networks will deepen our understanding.

To Moscow with love: partial reconstruction of Vygotsky's trip to London.

The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) left the Soviet Union only once to attend a conference on the education of the deaf in London. So far almost nothing was known about this trip, which took place in a period when Vygotsky was still completely unknown as a psychologist, both inside his own country and abroad. Making use of a newly discovered notebook, it proved possible to partially reconstruct Vygotsky's journey and stay in London. Vygotsky's very personal remarks show him to have been a very sensitive and spirited man, who was prey to strong emotions during the conference and afterwards. Rather surprisingly, Vygotsky's own paper about the education of the deaf was never presented during the conference and the stay in London appears to have had a limited value for his own scientific development.

Vygotsky in english: what still needs to be done.

At present readers of English have still limited access to Vygotsky's writings. Existing translations are marred by mistakes and outright falsifications. Analyses of Vygotsky's work tend to downplay the collaborative and experimental nature of his research. Several suggestions are made to improve this situation. New translations are certainly needed and new analyses should pay attention to the contextual nature of Vygotsky's thinking and research practice.

An unexpected admirer of Ladygina-Kohts.

Previously unknown correspondence between Nadya Nikolaevna Ladygina-Kohts, author of The Chimpanzee Child and the Human Child (1935), and Harry Harlow shows a reciprocal interest in, and admiration for, each other's work. In 1960 and 1961, they exchanged some 9 letters as well as numerous reprints and publications. The correspondence shows that Ladygina-Kohts and Harlow had been following each other's work for years and that Ladygina-Kohts's work may have been one of the major inspirations to Harlow's primate program.

Separation and divergence: the untold story of James Robertson's and John Bowlby's theoretical dispute on mother-child separation.

The work of Robertson and Bowlby is generally seen as complementary, Robertson being the practically oriented observer and Bowlby focusing on theoretical explanations for Robertson's observations. The authors add to this picture an "untold story" of the collaboration between Robertson and Bowlby: the dispute between the two men that arose in the 1960s about the corollaries of separation and the ensuing personal animosity. On the basis of unique archival materials, this until now little known aspect of the history of attachment theory is extensively documented. The deteriorating relationship between Robertson and Bowlby is described against the background of different currents in psychoanalysis in Britain in the interbellum.

Changing attitudes towards the care of children in hospital: a new assessment of the influence of the work of Bowlby and Robertson in the UK, 1940-1970.

It is generally believed that the work of Bowlby and Robertson was new and decisive in changing the hospital conditions for young children. The fact that parents in the UK and other European countries can now visit their sick child at any time they wish or even room-in is attributed to an acquaintance with Bowlby's findings and Robertson's well-known films about the potentially detrimental effects of hospital stays for young children. In this paper we shall argue that this picture is incomplete and that, historically, things were rather more intricate. Bowlby and Robertson were neither the first nor the only researchers who tried to change hospital policies. Moreover, the older hospital policies were not uniformly bad. Long before Bowlby and Robertson began their plea for reforms, several individuals and hospitals had already introduced conditions that we now still regard as exemplary. The whole change towards more liberal, flexible, and humane practices in children's wards took place over several decades and was fuelled by both worried medical doctors, pressure groups of parents, sympathetic editors of medical journals, and emerging new research findings such as those provided by Bowlby and Robertson. In that societal debate, the voices of Bowlby and Robertson were influential but not necessarily new or decisive.