Bruno Bettelheim
| Bruno Bettelheim | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 28, 1903 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | March 13, 1990 (aged 86) Silver Spring, Maryland, United States |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Fields | Director of Orthogenic School (1944–1973) |
| Doctoral students | Benjamin Drake Wright |
| Known for | freelance ideas on child psychology; The Uses of Enchantment |
| Spouse | Regina Alstadt (1930–?; divorced) Gertrude Weinfeld (1941–1984; her death; 3 children) |
Bruno Bettelheim (August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born self-educated psychoanalyst. Because he was Jewish and an advocate of Austrian independence, Bettelheim was arrested and imprisoned in the concentration camps of Dachau and Buchenwald for ten and a half months from 1938 to 1939. Drawing upon this experience, he published a highly regarded paper in 1943 entitled "Individual and Mass Behavior in Extreme Situations." He had emigrated to the United States in 1939 and spent the bulk of his academic career as a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago. For more than 40 years, Bettelheim wrote a number of articles and books on psychology. Prior to revelations of fake credentials and plagiarism after his death, he had had an international reputation on such topics as Sigmund Freud and emotionally disturbed children. He served as the director of the Orthogenic School for Disturbed Children from 1944 to 1973.
Bettelheim substantially misrepresented his background and academic credentials which were not checked because of the disruption of World War II. His one doctorate at the University of Vienna was either in art history or philosophy (aesthetics). He had in fact only taken three introductory classes in psychology.
Bettelheim blamed mothers for autism, as in The Empty Fortress (1967). Autism spectrum conditions are now regarded as having multiple and primarily physical causes. In addition, it was revealed that he frequently hit students even though he spoke and wrote against corporal punishments. Counselors at the Orthogenic School tended to perceive legitimate corporal punishment, whereas many but not all students have reported rage and out-of-control violence on Bettelheim's part.
Bettelheim is perhaps best known for The Uses of Enchantment (1976), which applied Freudian psychology to fairy tales and won several awards, but which was accused of plagiarism in 1991.
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