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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Why we disagree to disagree: a reply to commentaries by Robertson and McGilly, and Lindsay.

In this contribution the authors reply to two commentaries - published in this issue - on their earlier paper discussing the changing attitudes towards the care of children in hospital in the UK between 1940 and 1970. They argue that the work of Robertson and Bowlby was indeed very important in bringing about these changes, but stand firm that the work of Robertson and Bowlby was not new or decisive.

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.

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.

"When strangers meet": John Bowlby and Harry Harlow on attachment behavior.

From 1957 through the mid-1970s, John Bowlby, one of the founders of attachment theory, was in close personal and scientific contact with Harry Harlow. In constructing his new theory on the nature of the bond between children and their caregivers, Bowlby profited highly from Harlow's experimental work with rhesus monkeys. Harlow in his turn was influenced and inspired by Bowlby's new thinking.

Loneliness in infancy: Harry Harlow, John Bowlby and issues of separation.

In this contribution, the authors give an overview of the different studies on the effect of separation and deprivation that drew the attention of many in the 1940s and 1950s. Both Harlow and Bowlby were exposed to and influenced by these different studies on the so called 'hospitalization' effect. The work of Bakwin, Goldfarb, Spitz, and others is discussed and attention is drawn to films that were used to support new ideas on the effects of maternal deprivation.

Rigorous experiments on monkey love: an account of Harry F. Harlow's role in the history of attachment theory.

On the basis of personal reminiscences an account is given of Harlow's role in the development of attachment theory and key notions of attachment theory are being discussed. Among other things, it is related how Harlow arrived at his famous research with rhesus monkeys and how this made Harlow a highly relevant figure for attachment theorist Bowlby.

Parent-child relationship, temperament, and physiological reactions to fear-inducing film clips: further evidence for differential susceptibility.

Recent studies have supported the intriguing hypothesis that highly reactive infants are most susceptible to the effect of parenting. This study replicates and extends an earlier study on 4-year-olds concerning higher susceptibility of more fearful children to the quality of their relationships with their mothers, as shown by their physiological reactions to fear-inducing film clips. Two groups of children (4- and 7-year-olds) were shown the same fear-inducing and neutral film clips.

Physiological reactions of preschoolers to fear-inducing film clips: effects of temperamental fearfulness and quality of the parent-child relationship.

This study investigates young children's fright reactions induced by television. The central question concerns the degree to which the impact can be predicted by temperamental fearfulness and the quality of the parent-child relationship. Using a procedure for recording simultaneously skin conductance (SCL) and heart rate variability (RMSSD), 78 3- and 4-year-olds were shown two brief TV film episodes (one fear-inducing and one emotionally neutral).

The role of nonautomatic processes in activity regulation: from Lipps to Galperin.

The authors present the historical analysis of one of the central questions in psychology: how and why the nonautomatic, psychological level of regulation (in contrast to automatic physiological processes) emerges both in evolution and in everyday context of activity. They discuss several approaches (by Lipps, Groos, Stern, James, Dewey, Claparède, Pavlov, and Leontiev) that culminated in the system of ideas developed by Galperin, one of the key figures in the cultural -historical activity theory. The authors analyze the relation of Galperin's ideas to Vygotsky's theoretical framework and then focus on Galperin's account of the origin and functions of mental activity.