The ontogeny of an idea: John Bowlby and contemporaries on mother-child separation.

In this contribution, the authors situate the development of Bowlby's attachment theory against the background of the social, cultural, and scientific developments in interbellum Britain. It is shown that fairly early in his life Bowlby adopted one fundamental idea-that an infant primarily needs a warm and loving mother, and that separations from the mother are potentially damaging-and never substantially changed that basic notion in later years. Bowlby's first and foremost goal-and his lifelong undertaking-was to convince certain others (e.

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.

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.

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.