2 Flashcards
What are animal studies?
Studies on non-human animals, often used for ethical/practical reasons
Give an example of an ethical reason for using animal studies
May be deemed less bad to have potentially cause a long-term negative impact on animals, as a pose to humans
Give a practical reason for using animal studies
Animals breed faster + have shorter life spans (so easier to observe whole life longitudinally)
What 2 animal studies do we look at in regards to attachment?
- Lorenz (1935) (geese)
- Harlow (1958) (rhesus monkeys)
What is imprinting?
Innate tendency to attach to first large moving object seen + base behavioural patterns off them
Outline Lorenz’ study (1935)
Aim:
- To investigate attachment/imprinting in goslings
Procedure:
- Clutch of geese eggs divided into 2 groups
- 1) Control group: left with natural mother
- 2) Experimental group: in incubator, saw Lorenz first
- Marked groups, returned to mother
Findings:
- Control group followed mother
- Experimental group followed Lorenz
Conclusion:
- Baby birds IMPRINT to 1st moving object they see (as their form of attachment)
- Imprinting happens in a CRITICAL PERIOD (12-17hrs after hatch)
- If imprinting doesn’t happen in critical period, it won’t happen at all
Outline Lorenz’ later study (1952)
Aim:
- To investigate how imprinting affects sexual preferences
Procedure:
- Peacock raised in reptile house, so it imprinted to giant tortoises
Findings:
- Peacock only directed ‘courtship’ behaviours to tortoises
Conclusion:
- SEXUAL IMPRINTING occurs during imprinting, dictating sexual preferences
Give 2 positive evaluation points for Lorenz’s 1935 study
Research support for imprinting
- Regolin + Vallortigara (1995)
- Newborn chicks shown moving shape combo
- When shown new combos, continued to follow first combo most closely
- Supports idea that species can imprint onto moving objects
Research to suggest imprinting can in some ways link to humans
- Seebach (2005)
- Found computer users form attachment to first operating system + reject others
- ‘Baby duck syndrome’
- Supports idea that some aspects of imprinting apply to humans
Give 2 negative evaluation points for Lorenz’ 1935 study
Methodology lacks generalisability to humans
- Sample used animals
- Mammals + birds are very different
- Bonds in mammals are more reciprocal than birds’ 1-way imprinting
- Can’t validly apply Lorenz’s findings to humans
Ethical issues
- Potential to cause lasting issues for the animals (eg those that learned from Lorenz may not pick up necessary skills)
Does Lorenz’ 1935 study support or refute Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory of Attachment?
Supports
- Adaptive (imprint to help survival)
- Critical period (imprinting in geese occurs within 12-17hrs)
- Montropic (imprint to one - first large moving object)
Does Lorenz’ 1935 study support or refute the Learning Theory of Attachment?
Refutes
- Imprinting is innate, not acquired
Outline Harlow’s 1958 study
Aim:
- To investigate attachment in baby rhesus monkeys
Procedure:
- 16 baby rhesus monkeys split into 2 conditions
- 1) Wire mother (dispensing milk) + cloth mother
- 2) Wire mother + cloth mother (dispensing milk)
- Observed monkeys’ development + reaction to being scared
Findings:
- Both groups spent most time with cloth mother
- When scared, both groups ran to cloth mother
- All monkeys grew up to be less sociable + unskilled at mating and mothering (this exaggerated in another experiment that used condition with no cloth mother)
Conclusions:
- Monkeys mainly seek attachments for CONTACT COMFORT (not food)
- Monkeys must attach within a CRITICAL PERIOD (90 days)
- Without a real mother, monkeys suffer from MATERNAL DEPRIVATION (PRIVATION) + are permanently dysfunctional
Give 1 positive evaluation points for Harlow’s 1958 study
Practical applications
- Howe (1998) said it helped animals + humans
- Animals: improved knowledge in zoos + breeding programmes about need to raise animals with attachment figure
- Humans: improved knowledge in social care about need to provide bonding experiences they aren’t getting from parental attachment figure
Give 2 negative evaluation points for Harlow’s 1958 study
Methodology lacks generalisability to humans
- Sample used animals
- Differences between humans + monkeys so findings may not apply
BUT - More generalisable than Lorenz’ study, as Green (1994) said brain structure is same in all mammals
Ethical issues
- Monkeys suffered extreme distress from privation
- This impact was long term (eg became bad parents)
BUT - May prevent these issues from unintentionally occurring everyday
Does Harlow’s 1958 study support or refute Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory of Attachment?
Supports
- Critical period (90 days for rhesus monkeys)
- Montropic (attach to one figure).
- Internal working model (affects later attachments - as acts as template)
