The History of Attachment Theory

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the history of attachment theory, focusing in particular on: (i) John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth as founding figures; (ii) the importance of ethology and the role of Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen in enlightening psychology to a new, non-laboratory based way of studying human attachment; (iii) Harry Harlow’s research on monkey surrogate ‘mothers’, signposted as a key influence on Bowlby’s attachment dynamic theory; (iv) Shafer and Emerson’s stages of attachment, focusing on some of the modern theory which challenges aspects of its structure.

About the lecturer

Jeremy Holmes is a visiting professor of psychology at the University of Exeter. He is a consultant psychiatrist and a psychoanalytic psychotherapist who specialises in attachment theory. Professor Holmes has authored a number of books on attachment theory, which explore its history, as well as bringing it together with modern psychoanalytical theory. Some of Professor Holmes’ recent publications include ‘Friston’s free energy principle: new life for psychoanalysis?’ (2021) and ‘Therapeutic mechanisms in attachment-informed psychotherapy in adults’ (2021).