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van Rosmalen L, Luijk MPCM, van der Horst FCP. Harry Harlow's pit of despair: Depression in monkeys and men. J Hist Behav Sci 2022; 58:204-222. [PMID: 35040491 PMCID: PMC9305880 DOI: 10.1002/jhbs.22180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder is the most common mood disorder in the United States today and the need for adequate treatment has been universally desired for over a century. Harry Harlow, famous for his research with rhesus monkeys, was heavily criticized when he undertook his controversial experiments trying to find a solution for depression in the 1960s-1970s. His research, however, did not just evolve gradually from his earlier research into learning and into love. Recently disclosed hand-written notes show, for the first time, the severity of Harlow's depressions as he wrote in detail about his feelings and thoughts during his stay in a mental hospital in 1968. In these notes, Harlow repeatedly vowed to put every effort into finding a cure for depression. This may, for a large part, explain why he did not stop his rigorous animal experiments where critics argue he should have, and he eventually managed to book positive results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenny van Rosmalen
- Centre for Child and Family StudiesLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Maartje P. C. M. Luijk
- Department of Psychology, Education & Child StudiesErasmus University RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Frank C. P. van der Horst
- Department of Psychology, Education & Child StudiesErasmus University RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
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van der Horst FCP, Zetterqvist Nelson K, van Rosmalen L, van der Veer R. A tale of four countries: How Bowlby used his trip through Europe to write the WHO report and spread his ideas. J Hist Behav Sci 2020; 56:169-185. [PMID: 31746007 PMCID: PMC7496263 DOI: 10.1002/jhbs.22016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Attachment theory, developed by child psychiatrist John Bowlby, is considered a major theory in developmental psychology. Attachment theory can be seen as resulting from Bowlby's personal experiences, his psychoanalytic education, his subsequent study of ethology, and societal developments during the 1930s and 1940s. One of those developments was the outbreak of World War II and its effects on children's psychological wellbeing. In 1950, Bowlby was appointed WHO consultant to study the needs of children who were orphaned or separated from their families for other reasons and needed care in foster homes or institutions. The resulting report is generally considered a landmark publication in psychology, although it subsequently met with methodological criticism. In this paper, by reconstructing Bowlby's visit to several European countries, on the basis of notebooks and letters, the authors shed light on the background of this report and the way Bowlby used or neglected the findings he gathered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank C. P. van der Horst
- Department of Psychology, Education & Child StudiesErasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | | | - Lenny van Rosmalen
- Centre for Child and Family StudiesInstitute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - René van der Veer
- Centre for Child and Family StudiesInstitute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MagallanesPunta ArenasChile
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Abstract
Harry Harlow, famous for his experiments with rhesus monkeys and cloth and wire mothers, was visited by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby and by child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim in 1958. They made similar observations of Harlow's monkeys, yet their interpretations were strikingly different. Bettelheim saw Harlow's wire mother as a perfect example of the 'refrigerator mother', causing autism in her child, while Bowlby saw Harlow's results as an explanation of how socio-emotional development was dependent on responsiveness of the mother to the child's biological needs. Bettelheim's solution was to remove the mother, while Bowlby specifically wanted to involve her in treatment. Harlow was very critical of Bettelheim, but evaluated Bowlby's work positively.
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Luijk MPCM, Beijers R, van Rosmalen L. [Sleep problems in young children; a plea to broaden the spectrum of interventions]. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2020; 164:D4449. [PMID: 32237568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
One in ten parents in the Netherlands feels there is a problem with their baby's sleep. Healthy sleep is very important for children and parents. Because of the many questions asked by parents, professionals are in need of clear guidelines. The guideline 'Healthy sleep and sleep problems in children', provided by the Dutch centre for youth health (NCJ, Nederlands Centrum Jeugdgezondheid) provides information on promoting healthy sleep behaviour and sleep interventions. We argue in this article that: (a) parents may have doubts about the recommended interventions; (b) the interventions are often not compatible with the concept of 'sensitive parenting'; and (c) the guideline does not include all possible interventions. We are pleading for a broadening of the spectrum of interventions. It is in the interest of parents as well as infants that interventions aimed at the needs of the infant are included in the spectrum of sleep interventions being offered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maartje P C M Luijk
- Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Dept. of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Rotterdam
- Contact: Maartje P.C.M. Luijk
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van der Horst FCP, van Rosmalen L, van der Veer R. Research notes: John Bowlby's critical evaluation of the work of René Spitz. Hist Psychol 2019; 22:205-208. [PMID: 31021119 DOI: 10.1037/hop0000127b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In the history of psychology and theoretical discourse on the socioemotional development of children, the names Bowlby and Spitz are often mentioned in tandem. Both men were hugely interested in research on the consequences of maternal deprivation for young infants. However, though they would appear to have been thinking along the same lines and often referenced each other's work, it turns out they held very different views on the dynamic assessment and theoretical underpinning of their observations (Bowlby, 1960; Spitz, 1960). Even though some of this became public when they criticized each other after Bowlby's publication in 1960, newly uncovered archival material1 detailing Bowlby's reflections on several meetings with Spitz enables us to look more closely at their differences of opinion. These meetings took place in the spring of 1950, when Bowlby visited the United States for a research project for the World Health Organization (WHO). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Abstract
The traditional figure of Black Pete seen during the December festivities around Sinterklaas (the Dutch Santa Claus) in the Netherlands has sparked fierce debates about his racial stereotypical characteristics and his potentially negative effects on children’s opinions about black people. The Black Pete phenomenon has even been discussed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, resulting in a report urging the Netherlands to eliminate this form of racial stereotyping. The adult debate about Black Pete is clearly important, but Sinterklaas is essentially a children’s holiday. Surprisingly, there have never been any systematic studies to examine children’s views on Black Pete. The current study is the first to do so. In a sample of 201 children aged 5–7 years, we collected free descriptions of Black Pete, asked children to group him in relation to other figures, and to assign characteristics to him and comparison figures. The results showed that (1) Children are clearly aware of Black Pete’s skin color and subordinate status; (2) Children associate Black Pete more with clowns than with black people; (3) Children evaluate Black Pete very positively, but the positive characteristics do not generalize to their evaluation of black people. The findings illustrate the deep-rooted childhood origins of many Dutch people’s affection for Black Pete and their lack of awareness of his relation to racial stereotypes. This explains the resistance to changing the Black Pete figure and the slowness of the change process on this front.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judi Mesman
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Sofie Janssen
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Lenny van Rosmalen
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
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van Rosmalen L, van der Horst FCP, van der Veer R. From secure dependency to attachment: Mary Ainsworth's integration of Blatz's security theory into Bowlby's attachment theory. Hist Psychol 2016; 19:22-39. [PMID: 26844649 DOI: 10.1037/hop0000015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
John Bowlby is generally regarded as the founder of attachment theory, with the help of Mary Ainsworth. Through her Uganda and Baltimore studies Ainsworth provided empirical evidence for attachment theory, and she contributed the notion of the secure base and exploratory behavior, the Strange Situation Procedure and its classification system, and the notion of maternal sensitivity. On closer scrutiny, many of these contributions appear to be heavily influenced by William Blatz and his security theory. Even though Blatz's influence on Ainsworth has been generally acknowledged, this article, partly based on understudied correspondence from several personal archives, is the first to show which specific parts of attachment theory can be traced back directly to Blatz and his security theory. When Ainsworth started working with Bowlby in the 1950s, around the time he turned to evolutionary theory for an explanation of his findings, she integrated much of Blatzian security theory into Bowlby's theory in the making and used her theoretical and practical experience to enrich attachment theory. Even though Blatz is hardly mentioned nowadays, several of his ideas live on in attachment theory.
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van Rosmalen L, van der Horst FC, van der Veer R. Of monkeys and men: Spitz and Harlow on the consequences of maternal deprivation. Attach Hum Dev 2012; 14:425-37. [DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2012.691658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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van Rosmalen L, van der Horst FCP, van der Veer R. An unexpected admirer of Ladygina-Kohts. Hist Psychol 2011; 14:412-415. [PMID: 22332293 DOI: 10.1037/a0025647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Previously unknown correspondence between Nadya Nikolaevna Ladygina-Kohts, author of The Chimpanzee Child and the Human Child (1935), and Harry Harlow shows a reciprocal interest in, and admiration for, each other's work. In 1960 and 1961, they exchanged some 9 letters as well as numerous reprints and publications. The correspondence shows that Ladygina-Kohts and Harlow had been following each other's work for years and that Ladygina-Kohts's work may have been one of the major inspirations to Harlow's primate program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenny van Rosmalen
- Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Department of Education and Child Studies, Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden (room 4.B36), Rapenburg 702311 EZ Leiden, Netherlands.
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Stams GJ, Brugman D, Deković M, van Rosmalen L, van der Laan P, Gibbs JC. The moral judgment of juvenile delinquents: a meta-analysis. J Abnorm Child Psychol 2006; 34:697-713. [PMID: 17048108 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-006-9056-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2006] [Accepted: 09/26/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
A meta-analysis of 50 studies was conducted to investigate whether juvenile delinquents use lower levels of moral judgment than their nondelinquent age-mates and, if so, what factors may influence or moderate the developmental delay. The results show a lower stage of moral judgment for juvenile delinquents (d=.76). Effect sizes were large for comparisons involving male offenders, late adolescents, delinquents with low intelligence, and incarcerated delinquents. The largest effect sizes were found for period of incarceration and comparisons involving juvenile delinquents with psychopathic disorder. Production instead of recognition measures, dilemma-free assessment methods, and non-blind scoring procedures yielded relatively large effect sizes, whereas effect sizes were medium for comparisons involving delinquents with average intelligence, non-incarcerated delinquents, female offenders, as well as early and middle adolescents. Psychopathic disorder and institutionalization were identified as unique moderators of the link between moral judgment and juvenile delinquency. It is concluded that developmentally delayed moral judgment is strongly associated with juvenile delinquency, even after controlling for socioeconomic status, gender, age and intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geert Jan Stams
- Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Department of Education, P.O. Box 94208, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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