Animal Studies Flashcards
What did Harlow aim to do? Why?
- Harlow wanted to study the mechanisms by which newborn rhesus monkeys bond with their mothers.
These infants were highly dependent on their mothers for nutrition, protection, comfort and socialization. - What, exactly, though, was the basis of the bond?
What would the behavioural theory of attachment suggest about the formation of an attachment? What was Harlow’s explanation? (1-1)
The behavioral theory of attachment would suggest that an infant would form an attachment with a carer that provides food.
In contrast Harlow’s explanation was that attachment develops as a result of the mother providing “tactile comfort”, suggesting that infants have an innate (biological) need to touch and cling to something for emotional comfort.
What was the procedure of harlows experiment? (3)
°16 monkeys were separated from their mothers immediately after birth and placed in cages with access to two surrogate mothers, one made of wire and one covered in soft terry towelling cloth.
• Eight of the monkeys could get milk from the wire mother
• Eight monkeys could get milk from the cloth mother
What were the results for harlows study? (5)
- Both groups of monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother (even if she had no milk).
- The infants of the second group would only go to the wire mother when hungry.
- Once fed they would return to the cloth mother for most of the day.
- If a frightening object was placed in the cage the infant took refuge with the cloth mother.
- The infant would explore more when the cloth mother was present.
How did Harlow’s monkeys compare to other monkeys? (5)
Then Harlow observed the difference in behavior differences between the monkeys who had grown up with surrogate mothers and those with normal mothers.
They found that:
a) They were much more timid.
b) They didn’t know how to act with other monkeys.
c) They were easily bullied and wouldn’t stand up for themselves.
d) They had difficulty with mating.
e) The females were inadequate mothers.
What affected whether Harlow’s monkeys showed these behaviours or not? (1-1)
These behaviors were observed only in the monkeys who were left with the surrogate mothers for more than 90 days. For those left less than 90 days the effects could be reversed if placed in a normal environment where they could form attachments.
What were Harlow’s two conclusions?
Harlow concluded that “contact comfort” (provided by the cloth mother) was more important than food in the formation of attachment. This also shows that contact comfort is preferable to food but not sufficient for healthy development.
He also concluded that early maternal deprivation leads to emotional damage but that its impact could be reversed in monkeys if an attachment was made before the end of the critical period. However if maternal deprivation lasted after the end of the critical period then no amount of exposure to mothers or peers could alter the emotional damage that had already occurred.
Two problems with Harlow’s study? Second contains 3 points
-Harlow’s work has been criticized. Lacks external validity and generalisation to human population: limited value in attempting to understand the effects of deprivation on human infants. (However, monkeys share approx 94% of our genetics - findings could have validity in humans to some degree)
-His experiments have been seen as unnecessarily cruel (unethical): It was clear that the monkeys in this study suffered from emotional harm from being reared in isolation. This was evident when the monkeys were placed with a normal monkey (reared by a mother), they sat huddled in a corner in a state of persistent fear and depression.
-So unethical that American animal liberation movement was born
Questions how far animal research can go in name of science
-In addition Harlow created a state of anxiety in female monkeys which had implications once they became parents. Such monkeys became so neurotic that they smashed their infant’s face into the floor and rubbed it back and forth.
Two strengths of Harlow’s study? (5)
+Harlow’s experiment is sometimes justified as providing a valuable insight into the development of attachment and social behavior. At the time of the research there was a dominant belief that attachment was related to physical (i.e. food) rather than emotional care.
+It could be argued that the benefits of the research outweigh the costs (the suffering of the animals).
-For example, the research influenced the theoretical work of John Bowlby, the most important psychologist in attachment theory.
REAL LIFE APPLICATION:
-knowledge gained from Harlow = helped social workers understand risk factors in neglect and abuse with human children
Can prevent it from occurring/recognise when to intervene
e.g. care of captive wild monkeys in zoos or breeding programs = ensure they have adequate attachment figures
-It could also be seen a vital in convincing people about the importance of emotional care in hospitals, children’s homes and day care.
What was the procedure of Lorenz’s study? (4
took a large clutch of goose eggs and kept them until they were about to hatch out. Half of the eggs were then placed under a goose mother, while Lorenz kept the other half beside himself for several hours.When the geese hatched Lorenz imitated a mother duck’s quacking sound, upon which the young birds regarded him as their mother and followed him accordingly. The other group followed the mother goose.
What did Lorenz find? (1-1) What is this known as? What does it suggest?
Lorenz found that geese follow the first moving object they see, during a 12-17 hour critical period after hatching. This process is known as imprinting, and suggests that attachment is innate and programmed genetically.
Other notable things about imprinting? (3)
Imprinting has consequences, both for short term survival, and in the longer term forming internal templates for later relationships. Imprinting occurs without any feeding taking place. If no attachment has developed within 32 hours it’s unlikely any attachment will ever develop.
How did Lorenz ensure that imprinting had occurred? What did he find?
To ensure imprinting had occurred Lorenz put all the goslings together under an upturned box and allowed them to mix. When the box was removed the two groups separated to go to their respective ‘mothers’ - half to the goose, and half to Lorenz.
What is notable about the process of imprinting? Who tested this? What did they find? (3) What did he and Lorenz both believe? (2)
Imprinting does not appear to be active immediately after hatching, although there seems to be a critical period during which imprinting can occur. Hess (1958) showed that although the imprinting process could occur as early as one hour after hatching, the strongest responses occurred between 12 and 17 hours after hatching, and that after 32 hours the response was unlikely to occur at all. Lorenz and Hess believe that once imprinting has occurred it cannot be reversed, nor can a gosling imprint on anything else
Two strengths of Lorenz’s study?
+RELIABILITY:
Numerous studies have replicated Lorenz’s work & found similar results
e.g. Gulton (1966) leghorn chicks that were exposed to yellow rubber glove became imprinted on them
Supports view that young bird are innately predisposed to attach to 1st moving object they see
Chicks then try to mate with gloves - supports Lorenz’s findings that if affect sexual behaviour
+REAL WORLD APPLICATION:
Eg. imprinting migratory birds to microlight aircrafts to teach them migratory flight paths
been used successfully to reintroduce birds to areas where they have become extinct
