About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the historic focus on WEIRD participants and explore how observations of attachment can be differently interpreted across varying cultures, focusing in particular on: (i) contrasting the traditional principles of secure attachment with the modern attachment theory that goes beyond this conceptualisation; (ii) some examples of cultural differences requiring a new perspective on aspects of attachment.

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).