Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?

Attachment theory, postulated by John Bowlby in collaboration with psychologists Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow, has been the subject of much discussion about its nature. The author considers it a psychoanalytical theory, but his peers in psychoanalysis at the time rejected this idea and offered c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michelle Vianna Goliath, Richard Theisen Simanke
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UNICApress 2024-11-01
Series:Critical Hermeneutics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/ecch/article/view/6175
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850059305792831488
author Michelle Vianna Goliath
Richard Theisen Simanke
author_facet Michelle Vianna Goliath
Richard Theisen Simanke
author_sort Michelle Vianna Goliath
collection DOAJ
description Attachment theory, postulated by John Bowlby in collaboration with psychologists Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow, has been the subject of much discussion about its nature. The author considers it a psychoanalytical theory, but his peers in psychoanalysis at the time rejected this idea and offered criticism of his concepts, suggesting that they were not in alignment with the principles of psychoanalysis. At the same time, collaborators Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow have repeatedly questioned the necessity of Bowlby’s choice of psychoanalysis as a basis for attachment theory, suggesting that it may not be the most appropriate approach. Lately, attachment theory has been used in many psychology courses and articles, without so much as a single mention to its psychoanalytical nature. This article presents a research proposal for an investigation of the nature of attachment theory on a conceptual level. It poses the question of whether the concepts used as a basis for attachment theory are consistent with psychoanalysis.
format Article
id doaj-art-982bc8c689d146d7841504fbb9f34300
institution DOAJ
issn 2533-1825
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher UNICApress
record_format Article
series Critical Hermeneutics
spelling doaj-art-982bc8c689d146d7841504fbb9f343002025-08-20T02:50:55ZengUNICApressCritical Hermeneutics2533-18252024-11-018210.13125/CH/6175Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?Michelle Vianna Goliath0Richard Theisen Simanke1Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF)Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF) Attachment theory, postulated by John Bowlby in collaboration with psychologists Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow, has been the subject of much discussion about its nature. The author considers it a psychoanalytical theory, but his peers in psychoanalysis at the time rejected this idea and offered criticism of his concepts, suggesting that they were not in alignment with the principles of psychoanalysis. At the same time, collaborators Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow have repeatedly questioned the necessity of Bowlby’s choice of psychoanalysis as a basis for attachment theory, suggesting that it may not be the most appropriate approach. Lately, attachment theory has been used in many psychology courses and articles, without so much as a single mention to its psychoanalytical nature. This article presents a research proposal for an investigation of the nature of attachment theory on a conceptual level. It poses the question of whether the concepts used as a basis for attachment theory are consistent with psychoanalysis. https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/ecch/article/view/6175attachment theorypsychoanalysisJohn Bowlby
spellingShingle Michelle Vianna Goliath
Richard Theisen Simanke
Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?
Critical Hermeneutics
attachment theory
psychoanalysis
John Bowlby
title Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?
title_full Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?
title_fullStr Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?
title_full_unstemmed Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?
title_short Is Attachment a Psychoanalytical Theory?
title_sort is attachment a psychoanalytical theory
topic attachment theory
psychoanalysis
John Bowlby
url https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/ecch/article/view/6175
work_keys_str_mv AT michelleviannagoliath isattachmentapsychoanalyticaltheory
AT richardtheisensimanke isattachmentapsychoanalyticaltheory