animal studies

Question 1

what was the aim of Lorenz’s study? (1952)

Answer 1

to investigate the phenomenon of imprinting in animals

Question 2

outline Lorenz’s procedure (1952)

Answer 2

randomly divided goose eggs
half hatched w Lorenz
half hatched w mother- control

Question 3

what did Lorenz find?

Answer 3

incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere
control group followed mother
even when groups mixed up

so imprinted on first moving object they saw

Question 4

what is imprinting

Answer 4

when bird species that are mobile from birth attach to and follow the first moving object they see

Question 5

Lorenz- critical period

Answer 5

critical period where imprinting takes place between hatchlings and first moving object they see
if doesn’t occur within period, don’t attach themselves to mother figure

Question 6

Lorenz- sexual imprinting

Answer 6

occurs when animal goes on to show courtship behaviour towards the species that they initially imprinted w

e.g. peacock giant tortoises

Question 7

what was the aim of Harlow’s research? (1958)

Answer 7

to investigate whether a similar object could serve the function of a mother

to investigate the importance of contact comfort

Question 8

Harlow’s method

Answer 8

reared 16 baby rhesus monkeys with two wire model ‘mothers’
one condition- milk dispensed by plain wire
other- milk dispensed by cloth-covered

Question 9

Harlow’s findings

Answer 9

baby monkeys cuddled and sought comfort from soft-cloth covered monkey, regardless of which dispensed milk

showed contact comfort more important than food in attachment terms

Question 10

Harlow- maternal deprivation

Answer 10

severe consequences on social development
more aggressive, less sociable, unskilled at mating
as mothers some neglected young or attacked, even killing

Question 11

Harlow- critical period

Answer 11

mother figure had to be introduced within 90 days for an attachment to form
after this attachment impossible, damage done by deprivation irreversible

Question 12

Lorenz

issue- generalisation of findings

Answer 12

• mammalian attachment systems diff to birds
• potentially form attachments at any time at greater emotional intensity
• overall issues with generalisability to human attachment systems
• low ecological validity (not generalisable beyond research setting)

Question 13

Lorenz

weakness- observations questionable

Answer 13

• permanence of sexual imprinting
• Guiton et. al (1966) chickens imprinted on yellow washing up gloves eventually learned to prefer mating with other chickens despite initially trying to mate with them
• suggests impact of imprinting on mating behaviour not as permanent as lorenz believed. learning and experience may be more important factors.

Question 14

Harlow

strength- practical value

Answer 14

• design of zoos and care of animals in shelters
• importance of attachment figures, intellectual stimulation and contact comfort
• zoos should ensure opportunity to form attachments
• allows healthy development

Question 15

Harlow

ethical issues

Answer 15

• long-term psychological harm
• harlow most likely envisioned, ‘iron maidens’
• species considered similar enough to humans (generalisable) so suffering presumably quite human-like
• cost-benefit analysis should be conducted. assess whether ethical costs outweigh benefits of improved attachment understanding