4.1.3 - Animal Studies

Question 1

Define imprinting

Answer 1

an innate readiness to aquire certain behaviours during a critical or sensitive period of development.

Question 2

What was Lorenz’s procedure

Answer 2

Lorenz set up a classic experiment. He randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs. half of the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment, Whilst the other half were hatched in an incubator. The first moving object they saw was Lovenz.

Question 3

What were lorenz’s findings

Answer 3

• group of incubator eggs followed lorent everywhere he went
• whilst the control group followed their mother
• when the two groups were mixed, the control group followed the mother, and the experimental group still followed Lorenz

Question 4

Link lorenz’s findings to imprinting

Answer 4

Supports imprinting:

• bird species that are mobile at birth, attach to and follow the first moving object that they see.
• Lorenz used these findings to identify the critical period when imprinting takes place
• depending on the species. It occurs up to a few hours after birth.
• Lorenz also concluded that if imprinting doesn’t occur during that time, the birds do not attach to a mother figure.

Question 5

Lorenz peacock and tortoise findings

Answer 5

• In his case study (1952), he investigated a peacock that had been brought up in the reptile house of a 200.
• The first moving object that the peacock saw was a giant tortoise.
• As an adult bird, the peacock would only direct courtship behaviour (finding a mate) towards giant tortoises.
• Lovenz concluded that the peacock experienced sexual imprinting

Question 6

Lorenz’s study isn’t generalisable - A03

Answer 6

Limitation:

• Lorenz was only focused on imprinting with birds, however some of his findings have influenced our understanding of human development which is a problem.
• Generalising from birds to humans decreases validity
  because the attachment system of mammals is different to that in birds.
• This is because mammals, especially humans develop emotional attachment to their young, Whilst birds lack this feeling.

Question 7

Harlow’s aims

Answer 7

Assess whether contact comfort or food was stage most important aspect in the development of an attachment.
- he used rhesus monkeys in his research which mare more similar to humans than birds are.

Question 8

harlow’s procedure

Answer 8

Harrow tested the Idea that soft objects can serve some of the functions of a mother.
- In an experiment he recorded 16 baby monkeys in
separate cages with two wire models of mothers . He investigated the monkeys in two separate conditions: - In one condition, milk was dispensed by the
plain wire mother , and in the second condition milk was dispensed by the cloth- covered mother

Question 9

Harlow’s findings

Answer 9

• The baby monkeys cuddled the soft object rather than the wire one, all monkeys sought comfort from the cloth-covered mother when scared, whether It dispensed the milk or not.
• This showed us that contact comfort was more important to the Monkeys than food when showing attachment behaviour.

Question 10

Harlow found the monkeys had long term effects due to deprivation.

Answer 10

There are severe consequences that are caused by maternal deprivation:
- The monkeys that reared with only the wire mother
experienced the most severe effects but the monkeys with a soft toy as a substitute still didn’t develop normal social behaviour.
- The moneys were less sociable and more agressive along with being unskilled at mating.
- when they became mothers, the deprived monkeys neglected their young, leaving them to be attacked by other monkeys.
- Supports Bowlby’s theory that attachments help babies to survive because the lack of attachment, the monkeys did not have as many effective life-skills.

Question 11

Harlow’s critical period idea differs to Bowlbys

Answer 11

• Harlow concluded that there was a critical period for
  developing attachments which was 90 days.
• After 90 days, if there has not been an attachment formed, the effects of mother deprivation are irreversible.
• Unlike Bowlby who believed that the critical period Is 2.5 years.

Question 12

Harlow’s work opposes the learning theory

Answer 12

• The monkeys became attached to the soft mother without any food which goes against the learning theory that suggests that attachment can be learnt because food is the primary reason that they form.
• However Harlow’s research suggests that attachment is Innate Instead

Question 13

Harlow’s work has real life application - A03

Answer 13

• the findings helped social workers understand the risk factors involved In child neglect and abuse leading them to intervene and do their best to prevent it.
• They helped breeders to understand the importance
  In developing attachments, leading to a better care and upbringing of animals in zoos or animals that are going to breed in the future

Question 14

Harlow’s work has ethical issues

Answer 14

• The Monkeys had to suffer severe consequences due to the research.
• However monkeys are considered very human-like which enables the results to be generalised to humans, therefore leading to improved education on the importance of attachments in childrens lives
• which in turn lead to a better treatment of babics and
  young children.