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Career

Contributions to Psychology

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At a Glance

College Years

These experiences working with children inspired him to become a childpsychiatrist.

Klein’s Influence

He eventually became dissatisfied with Klein’s approach. He felt that it focused too much on children’s fantasies and not enough on environmental events, including the influence of parents and caregivers.

After becoming a psychoanalyst in 1937, he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II. In 1938, he married a woman named Ursula Longstaff, and together they had four children.

He suggested that both mothers and infants had evolved to develop an innate need for proximity. By maintaining this closeness, infants are more likely to receive the care and protection needed to ensure their survival.

Lorenz even got newly-hatched geese to imprint onhimand view him as a “mother” figure. This revealed that not only is attachment innate but that there is also a critical period during which the formation of attachment relationships is possible. Lorenz’s research found that an attachment was not likely to occur after a certain period (approximately 32 hours for geese).

The Importance of the Attachment Bond

It is not food or nourishment that determines attachment. Instead it is the responsiveness of caregivers and the attention and care that children receive that determines their attachment patterns.

Stages of Attachment

How Attachment Influences Development

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Slade A, Holmes J.Attachment and psychotherapy.Curr Opin Psychol. 2019;25:152-156. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.06.008

Schwartz J.Cassandra’s Daughter: A History of Psychoanalysis. 1st American ed. Viking; 1999.

Sable P.Attachment, ethology and adult psychotherapy.Attach Hum Dev.2004;6(1):3-19. doi:10.1080/14616730410001663498

Barett H.Parents and children: facts and fallacies about attachment theory.J Fam Health Care.2006;16(1):3-4. PMID: 16550805

Haggbloom SJ, Warnick R, Warnick JE, et al.The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century.Review of General Psychology. 2002;6(2):139-152. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139

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