Animal Studies Flashcards
Animal Studies
- Early research into attachment was often conducted on non-human animals on the basis that there is biological similarity between animals and humans.
-Therefore, if something was observed in animal attachment behaviour, it stands to reason that it could also be applied to humans.
- Research using animal subjects are often seen as more ethical than when conducted with human participants as there is less potential for harm to human participants but also less psychological impact.
- Since researchers are often interested in seeing results over a life span, there are also practical advantages of using animals since they breed faster than humans do.
Key study: Lorenz (1935) - Aim
To examine the phenomenon of imprinting in non-human animals.
Key study: Lorenz (1935) - Method
- Lorenz conducted an experiment where he randomly divided greylag goose eggs into two batches.
- One batch, the control group, were naturally hatched by the mother.
- The second batch, the experimental group, were placed in an incubator, with Lorenz making sure he was the first large moving object that the goslings saw after hatching.
- The following behaviour of either the mother goose or Lorenz was recorded.
- Lorenz then marked the goslings so that he knew in which condition they were hatched and then placed them under an upside-down box.
- The box was then removed and the following behaviour of the goslings was recorded.
Key study: Lorenz (1935) - Findings
- Lorenz found that straight after birth the naturally-hatched goslings followed their mother, and the incubator-hatched goslings followed Lorenz.
- When the upside-down box was taken away, the naturally-hatched goslings moved immediately towards their mother, while the incubator-hatched goslings followed Lorenz.
- The incubator-hatched goslings showed no attachment to their biological mother.
- Lorenz noted that this imprinting only occurred within a critical period of 4-25 hours after hatching.
- This relationship persisted over time and proved to be irreversible.
Key study: Lorenz (1935) - Conclusion
These results suggest that imprinting is a form of attachment exhibited by birds that typically leave the nest early, whereby they imprint onto the first large moving object they encounter after hatching.
Lorenz - Sexual Imprinting
- Lorenz also looked at the relationship between imprinting and adult male preferences.
- Findings - birds that imprinted on humans would often display courtship behaviours towards humans.
- Case study: A peacock was reared in a reptile house of with tortoises. As an adult - the peacock would demonstrate courtship behaviours towards giant tortoises = sexual imprinting.
Key study: Lorenz (1935) - Strength
point: A strength of Lorenz’s study into imprinting was that it was highly controlled.
evidence: This was done through the careful manipulation of the independent variable, which was the presence of Lorenz or the mother goose. In addition, confounding variables were controlled, for example, the timings of exposure that the goslings had to their biological mother or Lorenz would have impacted the findings of the study as there is a critical period of 4-25 hours, where the process of attachment formation takes place. Moreover, the use of random allocation of the greylag goose eggs helps prevent the likelihood of other factors, such as the goslings’ natural tendencies or biases, from interfering with the finding of the experiment.
justification: Ultimately, this is a strength of Lorenz’s study as it contains high reliability through its controlled nature. This in turn allows for high replicability among other studies on imprinting. In addition, this study contains high internal validity as the study is measuring what it intends to measure and isn’t being influenced by extraneous circumstances.
Key study: Lorenz (1935) - Strength
point: There is research supporting the notion of imprinting.
evidence: Guiton et al. (1966) found that chickens would imprint onto yellow washing up gloves if that was the first large moving object they saw after birth. Throughout their life, the chicken’s would attempt to mate with the yellow washing up gloves.
justification: This suggests that the concept of imprinting is factual and that it extends to other forms of life. As a result, this increases the credibility of Lorenz’s study as it is supported by research.
counter-argument: However, Lorenz’s concept of imprinting is not entirely accurate.
evidence: Lorenz predicted that the relationship formed between an animal and the first large moving object that it sees will persist over time and be irreversible. However, Guiton et al. disagrees with this. He found that the chickens in his experiment would eventually learn to prefer mating with other chickens instead, suggesting that the effect of imprinting may not be as permanent as initially thought.
justification: Therefore, this is a limitation of Lorenz’s study as he only offers a partial and incomplete explanation by not considering the long-term effects of imprinting.
Key study: Lorenz (1935) - Weakness
point: This study has been criticised for having limited generalisability.
evidence: While Lorenz worked with goslings, humans have a much more complex and flexible attachment system. For example, human infants rely on a variety of factors, such as emotional bonding and caregiving to form attachments, rather than simply imprinting onto the first large moving object they see. This makes it difficult to apply Lorenz’s findings to human attachment behaviours as his study focuses predominantly on birds.
justification: This is a weakness of this study as it has limited application to humans which in turn reduces the external validity of Lorenz’s study, as the mechanisms of attachment in birds may not entirely match attachment in humans.
Key study: Lorenz (1935) - Weakness
point: A limitation of Lorenz’s study is that it overlooks ethical concerns.
evidence: This study involved separating the goslings from their mothers and imprinting them onto a different, human species (Lorenz). This is an issue as it means that the goslings will perhaps never get to form an attachment with their biological mother. Moreover, the goslings were raised in a highly controlled environment where they were exposed to Lorenz as their primary attachment figure. This could have caused confusion and distress to the animals.
justification: As a result, this is a weakness of this study as although it was valuable in regards to scientific discovery, it hardly considers the welfare of the goslings and the possibility of psychological harm they may have endured.
Key study: Harlow (1959) - Aim
To examine the extent to which contact comfort and food influences attachment behaviour in baby rhesus monkeys.
Key study: Harlow (1959) - Method
- Harlow constructed 2 surrogate mothers: 1 harsh ‘wire mother’ and a 2nd soft ‘towelling mother’.
- A sample of 16 baby rhesus monkeys were used across the 4 caged conditions:
1. ‘wire mother’ dispensing milk and ‘towelling mother with no milk’.
2. ‘wire mother’ with no milk and ‘towelling mother’ dispensing milk.
3. ‘wire mother’ dispensing milk.
4. ‘towelling mother’ dispensing milk. - The amount of time the baby rhesus monkeys spent with each mother was recorded, alongside how long they spent feeding at each one.
- To test for mother preference during periods of stress, the monkeys were startled with a loud noise and their responses recorded.
- A larger cage was used in some conditions to observe the degree of exploration by the baby rhesus monkeys.
Key study: Harlow (1959) - Findings
- Harlow discovered that when given a choice of surrogate mother, the baby rhesus monkeys preferred to make contact with the soft ‘towelling’ mother irrespective of whether she dispensed milk.
- It was observed that they would even stretch across to the ‘wire’ mother for food whilst still clinging onto the ‘towelling’ mother for contact comfort.
- The baby rhesus monkeys in the condition with only the ‘wire’ mother showed signs of stress, such as diarrhoea.
- When startled by the loud noise, the baby rhesus monkeys would cling tightly to the ‘towelling’ mother in the conditions where the surrogate was available to them.
- When given larger caged conditions, greater exploration behaviour was seen by the baby rhesus monkeys with the ‘towelling’ mother, indicating emotional security.
Key study: Harlow (1959) - Conclusion
Harlow concluded that baby rhesus monkeys appear to have an innate drive to seek contact comfort from their parents suggesting that attachment is formed through an emotional need for security rather than food, which is in contrast to the learning theory explanation of attachment.
This contact comfort provided by the mother is associated by lower levels of stress and a higher willingness to explore their surroundings.
Effects of Maternal Deprivation
They were:
1. Aggressive
2. Less sociable
3. Bred less than other monkeys
4. As mothers: they neglected their young and some attacked them.
Key study: Harlow (1959) - Strength
point: The results from Harlow’s study is of large practical value as it provides insight into attachment formation and has real-world applications.
evidence: Howe (1998) reports that the knowledge gained from Harlow’s research has helped social workers understand risk factors in neglect and abuse cases with human children which can then serve to prevent it from occurring or, at the very least, recognise when to intervene. In addition, there are practical applications which are used in the care of captive wild monkeys in zoos or breeding programmes to ensure that they have adequate attachment figures as part of their care.
justification: This is a strength of Harlow’s study as it has high ecological validity through the applicability of the findings to real-life situations where both the safety and development of both human and non-human species is accounted for when it is at jeopardy.
Key study: Harlow (1959) - Strength
point: Harlow’s study contains many methodological strengths.
evidence: One of the ways this is displayed is through the use of a controlled experimental design in a laboratory setting. This means that the independent variable, which was the different conditions the baby rhesus monkeys were put in, e.g., ‘towelling’ mother dispensing milk, were manipulated. Furthermore, there was a high degree of control over extraneous variables which prevents the findings of the study from being influenced by them. Moreover, the use of two different surrogate mothers enabled Harlow to make direct comparisons between the effects of contact comfort and feeding.
justification: This high control enhances the internal validity of the study but also establishes a cause-and-effect relationship, whereby we can conclude that the attachment behaviours that were demonstrated were influenced by the availability of contact comfort and security instead of other factors.
Key study: Harlow (1959) - Weakness
point: Harlow’s study was heavily criticised for overlooking ethical concerns regarding the baby rhesus monkeys.
evidence: The monkeys suffered immensely in terms of emotional separation from their biological mother at such an early age due to the procedure Harlow used. If the species of primates are considered to be sufficiently human-like to generalise the findings beyond the sample used then it stands to reason that the effects of psychological harm that they had endured would be the same in a human infant too. The extent of this maternal deprivation was also seen in the baby rhesus monkeys in several ways: they were aggressive, less sociable, bred less than other monkeys and as mothers, they neglected their young and some attacked them.
justification: As a result, this is a weakness of this study as although it was valuable in regards to scientific discovery, it hardly considers the welfare of the baby rhesus monkeys and the psychological and emotional harm they had endured but also inflicted on their offspring.
Key study: Harlow (1959) - Weakness
point: Harlow’s study has been criticised for a lack of generalisability.
evidence: Although the participants of Harlow’s research were a sample of 16 baby rhesus monkeys which are non-human, it could be argued that they are far more alike humans than the goslings Lorenz studied. However, it is still heavily debated among psychologists as to what extent studies of animals, specifically primates, should be generalised to the human population due to their apparent differences. Because of this uncertainty, we can only draw assumptions that the behaviour presented by the baby rhesus monkeys would be similar to that of human infants, instead of gathering factual information.
justification: This is a weakness of this study as it has limited application to humans which in turn reduces the external validity of Harlow’s findings, as the mechanisms of attachment in baby rhesus monkeys may not entirely match attachment in humans.
Animal studies - Strength
- Refer to Lorenz or Harlow
Animal studies - Strength
point: One strength of animal studies is that they have high practical applications.
evidence: For example, Lorenz’s study on imprinting with goslings has contributed to our understanding of the critical period for attachment, which has tailored modern parenting advice and intervention strategies for children at risk of attachment disorders. These findings have been particularly relevant in adoption and foster care, where understanding the emotional needs of children can greatly improve the chances of successful bonding and long-term emotional well-being.
justification: This increases the external validity of animal studies such as Lorenz’s as it provides information in regards to attachment which has shaped real-world practices in child care in relation to emotional welfare.
Animal studies - Weakness
point: One limitation of animal studies is the ethical concerns they raise.
evidence: For example, in Harlow’s study, the baby rhesus monkeys were subject to severe psychological distress by being raised in isolation from their biological mothers and instead provided with two surrogate mothers - one harsh ‘wire mother’ and one soft ‘towelling mother’. The extent of this maternal deprivation was seen in the baby rhesus monkeys in several ways: they were aggressive, less sociable, bred less than other monkeys and as mothers, they neglected their young and some attacked them. This raises ethical concerns about the infliction of suffering in the pursuit of knowledge, especially when the distress imposes long-term negative effects on the animals’ well-being.
justification: As a result, this is a weakness of animal studies because although it provides valuable insight in regards to attachment, it hardly considers the welfare of these animals. It stresses the importance of ethical guidelines to ensure the preservation of such animals that are exposed to psychological research.
Animal studies - Weakness
point: One key limitation of animal studies is the difficulty of generalising their findings to humans.
evidence: In Lorenz’s study, goslings were observed to imprint on the first large moving object they saw after hatching, suggesting that attachment behaviours are innate and occur during a critical period. Whilst this concept has been influential in the human attachment theory, such as Bowlby’s idea of a critical period, humans have a much more complex cognitive and emotional attachment process than goslings. For example, human attachment tends to be reciprocal, influenced by factors such as caregiving quality. In Harlow’s study, baby rhesus monkeys demonstrated the importance of contact comfort over nourishment in attachment formation. Whilst primates share some behavioural and genetic similarities with humans, their attachment process is slightly different. For example, human attachment is influenced by cognitive, cultural and linguistic factors that monkeys do not possess.
justification: As a result, this reduces the external validity of animal studies as it has limited applications to humans. While these studies provide invaluable knowledge into attachment, they do not fully account for the complexity and mechanisms of human behaviour and consequently cannot be generalised to humans.
