The Nature of Grief: The Evolution and Psychology of Reactions to Loss

334 Pages·1999·4.98 MB·English

by  John Archer

The Nature of Grief
The Nature of Grief is a ground-breaking and provocative new synthesis of material
from evolutionary psychology, ethology and experimental psychology on the process
of grief. It steps outside of the psychiatric and psychoanalytic perspectives that have
dominated grief research for so long, and argues that grief is not an illness or a disorder
but a natural reaction to losses of many kinds.
John Archer identifies grief as a common experience throughout all human cultures
that has evolved from simpler versions in animals. Human grief is built upon these
primitive reactions, but involves higher-level mental processes that attribute meaning
to the events and feelings experienced. Differences in grieving depend on differences
between the types of relationship involved, and these are considered in terms of
evolutionary psychology and attachment theory. This use of Darwinian and
attachment theory has made it possible to integrate a large amount of research on
individual differences which would otherwise have been unrelated to theory.
The Nature of Grief also considers the cultural and historical context of
contemporary ideas about grief, discusses literary, biographical and other non-
scientific writings, and includes a wide-ranging, comprehensive and up-to-date review
of research. It will be of interest to developmental and clinical psychologists and all
those in the caring professions.
John Archer is Professor of Psychology at the University of Central Lancashire.
His previous publications include Male Violence (1994), Ethology and Human
Development (1992) and Human Aggression: Naturalistic Approaches (1989, edited
with K.Browne).
The Nature of Grief
The evolution and psychology of
reactions to loss
John Archer
First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New
York, NY 10001
Brunner-Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of
thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 1999 John Archer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Archer, John, 1944–
The nature of grief: the evolution and psychology of reactions to loss/John Archer.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Grief. 2. Bereavement—Psychological aspects. Death—
Psychological aspects. 4. Loss (Psychology) I. Title.
BF575.G7A73 1998
155.9′37–dc21 98–21034
ISBN 0-203-36065-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-37321-9 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-17857-6 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-17858-4 (pbk)
Contents
List of illustrations x
Preface xii
Acknowledgements xiv
1 Introduction: what is grief? 1
Approaches to the understanding of grief 1
Grief as a product of natural selection 4
Grief from the viewpoint of ethology 5
Grief as a psychological process 6
An outline of the book 8
2 The historical background to grief research 11
Pre-1900 accounts of grief 11
Shand’s Foundations of Character 13
Freud’s Mourning and Melancholia 15
Early twentieth-century studies of grief 16
The Coconut Grove fire study 16
British studies of community samples, 1958–65 18
Parkes’ interview studies 19
Questionnaire measures of grief 20
Established beliefs about the grief process 21
The stage or phase view of grief 22
Conclusions 24
3 Accounts of grief from other sources 27
Introduction 27
v
Historical sources 27
Ethnographic sources 30
Grief in literature, religion and biography 34
Grief in film 38
Grief in the visual arts 39
Grief in music 41
Conclusions 43
4 The biological context of grief 45
Introduction 45
Attachment theory 45
Reactions to separation and death in children 48
Is grief universal in humans? 50
Grief in animals 53
A two-process theory of grief 56
The function of grief 57
Conclusions 62
5 The grief process: an analytic approach 65
Introduction 65
Sources of information about grief 66
Numbness and disbelief 67
Anger and aggression 68
Guilt, self-blame and self-injury 71
Distress and anxiety 73
Yearning and preoccupation 74
Illusions, hallucinations and ghosts 77
Anniversaries and reminders 79
The urge to search 81
Mitigating or avoiding grief 84
Identification 85
vi
Changes in self-concept 87
Hopelessness and depression 87
Conclusions 88
6 The grief process: holistic views 91
Introduction 91
Grief as an intervening variable 92
Grief as a behavioural system 95
The stage or phase view of grief and evidence for changes over time 96
A behaviourally based view of grief 99
The Dual-Process Model of grief 101
Conclusions 105
7 The resolution of grief 107
Introduction 107
What is the resolution of grief? 109
Variations in the time-course of grief 110
The ‘tasks of grief’ 113
The concept of grief work 118
Can a new relationship resolve grief? 123
Conclusions 126
8 The mental processes of grief 129
Introduction 129
Hallucinations 129
Slips of action 130
Intrusive thoughts 131
Counterfactuals 133
Suppression and distraction as strategies for coping with unwanted 134
thoughts
Causal attributions: self-blame and blaming others 137
Blame and resolution 140
Perceived control 142
vii
Hardiness 143
Purpose in life 144
Conclusions 145
9 An evolutionary view of individual differences in grief 149
Introduction 149
Kinship and mutual benefit 150
Age 152
Sex 153
Other principles 155
How should evolutionary principles be applied to individual differences 156
in grief?
Applications of natural selection to individual differences in grief 158
Conclusions 162
10 The relationship with the deceased 165
Introduction 165
The general link between attachment and grief 166
Dependency 167
Ambivalence and conflict 170
Attachment styles 172
An evolutionary approach to attachment styles 174
Attachment-based and evolutionary views of individual differences 177
11 Loss of a son or daughter 179
Introduction 179
Miscarriage 183
Induced abortion 186
Stillbirth 190
Perinatal death 194
Sudden infant death 196
Death of a child 198
viii
Death of an adult son or daughter 200
Conclusions 202
12 Death of a relative or friend 205
Introduction 205
Death of a parent during childhood 206
Death of a parent during adolescence or young adulthood 211
Death of a parent during adulthood 212
Death of a grandchild 214
Sibling death 215
Death of a friend 217
Grieving for an ‘unrecognised’ partner 221
Death of a princess and other public figures 223
Loss of a non-human companion 224
Conclusions 227
13 The influence of the age and sex of the bereaved 231
Introduction 231
Is grief greater at younger than older ages? 233
Other features of grief at older ages 234
Sex differences in reactions to marital bereavement 237
Coping strategies of men and women 240
Sex differences in parental grief 242
Do differences in grieving produce marital problems? 244
Conclusions 246
14 Conclusions 247
The process of grief 247
Individual differences 250
References 253
Author index 293
Subject index 305
ix