Attachment Theory, Developmental Psychiatry
John Bowlby
Tavistock Institute, London · 1907–1990
Key work
Attachment and Loss (3 vols.) (1969–1982)
What they contributed
Bowlby proposed that the human infant has a biologically-rooted drive to seek proximity to caregivers when threatened — the attachment behavioral system. He identified that the pattern of the caregiver's responsiveness becomes the infant's "internal working model" of relationships: the template for all subsequent intimate bonds. His three-volume work established the scientific foundation for understanding how early relationships shape psychological development across the lifespan.
Why it matters here
Every article on attachment wounds, receiving love, and relationship patterns builds on Bowlby's foundational observation that early caregiving becomes the relational template. His work explains why childhood relational experiences persist in adult intimate life.
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