Animal Studies Flashcards
Why might animals be used to test attachment instead of humans?
- Ethics: lasting effects on humans
- If we want to see life time effects breed ability is easier in animals
How did Lorenz study imprinting in his goose egg study?
He randomly separated goose eggs into two categories: one group when hatched saw the mother goose, and the other half saw him
They were then all placed under a box and when it was lifted wither went to him or the goose
What were the results of the Goose egg study?
The goslings followed the first large moving object they saw: this had to occur within a critical period and the effects were irreversible
Evaluation of Lorenz’s goose egg study?
- Cannot generalise between geese and humans: Attachment formation in mammals appears to be very different to birds and as such the results must be applied with caution if at all
- Alternative study on chickens found that imprinting may not have been irreversible as chickens could learn to preferentially mate with other chickens instead of the object they imprinted on, suggesting Lorenz was wrong
What was Harlow’s Monkey study on contact comfort?
16 baby monkeys were in 4 conditions:
- wire mum with milk + towel mum without milk
- wire mum without milk + towel mum with milk
- wire mum with milk
- towel mum with milk
The amount of time they spent with each was recorded as well as the feeding duration and who they sought when stress was induced by loud noises
What were the findings of Harlow’s monkey study?
When given the choice they preferred the soft towel mother irrespective of if she had milk. If the towel mother wasn’t present they showed signs of stress through diarrhoea. They also explored more with the towel mother suggesting security in attachment
Attachment is formed on comfort not food
Evaluation of Harlow’s monkey study?
- Ethics: the chimps suffered severe stress and harm, if results can be generalised because we are so similar should our ethics not then apply to them
- Real-world application: helped us to understand the impact of abuse or neglect cases with children and therefore how to improve their lives and help them
