Animal Studies

Question 1

What is imprinting?

Answer 1

An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the first moving object seen which normally takes place during the first few hours after birth

Question 2

What are the long-lasting effects of imprinting?

Answer 2

Affects later mating preferences and it is irreversible

Question 3

What is sexual imprinting?

Answer 3

When animals will choose to mate with the same kind of object upon which they imprinted

Question 4

Which study shows evidence for imprinting?

Answer 4

Lorenz (1952)

Question 5

Lorenz (1952) - procedure

Answer 5

• split a group of geese, one half hatched with mother and other in an incubator
• Lorenz was the first moving object the incubator group encountered
• Lorenz recorded their behaviour

Question 6

Lorenz (1952) - findings

Answer 6

Naturally hatched goslings followed mother, incubator ones followed Lorenz

Question 7

Which study showed evidence that attachment is not based on the feeding bond?

Answer 7

Harlow (1958)

Question 8

What is the critical period in animals?

Answer 8

A mother figure has to be introduced to an infant within 90 days for an attachment to form

Question 9

Harlow (1958) - procedure

Answer 9

• 16 baby monkeys with two wire mothers
• condition 1: wire mother dispensed milk
• condition 2: cloth mother dispensed milk
• measured time spent with each mother and observed reactions of monkeys when frightened

Question 10

Harlow (1958) - findings

Answer 10

Regardles of which mother dispensed milk, monkeys always preferred the cloth mother

Question 11

What were some of the long-lasting effects of maternal deprivation on the monkeys?

Answer 11

They grew up to be more aggressive, less social and some attached to thieir own children or even killed them

Question 12

Strength - additional research support

Answer 12

Guiton (1966) - found that chicks exposed to yellow rubber gloves during their first few weeks, became imprinted on the gloves
Later, male chickens tried to mate with the gloves

Question 13

Strength - practical implications

Answer 13

• has helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse
• important in the care of captive monkeys

Question 14

Limitation - plastic and forgiving mechanism

Answer 14

Guiton (1966) - found that he could reverse imprinting in chickens that tried to mate with yellow gloves, they needed to spend time with their own species

Question 15

Limitation - ethical issues

Answer 15

• baby monkeys were deliberately deprived from mothers from birth
• lasting emotional harm
• c: pros outweigh the cons

Question 16

Limitation - generalisation issues

Answer 16

cannot generalise animal studies to humans so need to look at research with humans