274
EARLY EMOTIONAL
BONDS ARE AN
INTEGRAL PART
OF HUMAN NATURE
JOHN BOWLBY (1907–1990)
IN CONTEXT
APPROACH
Attachment theoryBEFORE
1926 Sigmund Freud presents
the psychoanalytic theory of
“cupboard love,” suggesting
that infants become attached
to caregivers because they
fulfil physiological needs.1935 Konrad Lorenz’s research
shows that non-humans form
strong bonds with the first
moving object they encounter.AFTER
1959 Harry Harlow’s work
demonstrates that macaque
monkeys separated from their
mothers in infancy develop
social and emotional problems.1978 Michael Rutter shows
that children can become
strongly attached to a variety
of attachment figures (such as
fathers, siblings, peers, and
inanimate objects).I
n the 1950s, the prevailing
theory on how infants form
attachments was based on
the psychoanalytical concept of
“cupboard love.” This suggested
that babies form bonds with people
who fulfil their physiological needs,
such as feeding. At the same time,
the animal studies of Konrad
Lorenz suggested that animals
simply bond with the first moving
object they encounter, which is
usually the mother.
It was against this background
that John Bowlby took a distinctly
evolutionary perspective on early
attachment. He argued that because
newborn infants are completely
helpless, they are genetically