Animal Studies Flashcards
What was Harlow’s theory of attachment?
That love/comfort contribute to an attachment bond
What was Harlow’s monkey study?
A lab experiment where 8 monkeys were divided into 2 groups, with 4 fake mothers.
Each had a wire and towel mother and each group had alternate mothers providing food
Why was this study set up in this way?
To prove that if food was the only contributing factor to attachment then the monkeys would spend most time with the mothers who had food regardless of material
What were the results of Harlow’s monkey study?
Monkeys spent most time with the towel mother, and only went to the wire mother if the towel mother did not have food. When afraid, the monkeys always went to the towel mum.
What would happen if the monkey was left with a wire mother with food?
There would be an adverse effect, such as diarrhea and other signs of stress
What were the strengths of Harlow’s study?
- He conducted a lab experiment where extraneous variables could be controlled EG: the amount of milk, the living conditions
[this allows a causal relationship to be established]
What were the limitations of Harlow’s study?
- The towel mother and wire mother had different faces (this was a confounding variable)
- Results lack generalisability due to animal reductionism
- Unethical due to lack of informed consent
What did Lorenz intend to investigate?
How geese formed attachments
How did Lorenz study the geese?
He had a control group of geese naturally hatched, in the presence of the mother goose
And an experimental group where geese were hatched in an incubator and saw Lorenz first after hatching
What were the results of Lorenz’s Gosling study?
- Naturally hatched eggs only attached to mum
- Incubator goslings only attached to Lorenz
Each group followed their attachment figure everywhere, this was irreversible and immediate
What is imprinting?
A type of attachment where nidifugous birds attach to the first moving object they see, immediately
How does Lorenz support Bowlby?
- Proof of monotropy - Geese only attached to 1 animal/person irreversibly
- Proof of critical period - If geese didn’t form an attachment in a certain time window, then there could be no attachment bond later on
- Proof of biological instinct - Geese immediately imprint proving that it is biologically pre-programmed
ALT: Disproved because it shows that there isn’t a mutual biological instinct within an attachment bond, because the geese can attach to anything immediately
What were the limitations of Lorenz’s study?
- Lacks replicability - Guitton et al was a counter evidence for Lorenz’s findings because he disproved that attachments are monotropic and biologically pre-programmed, they may be learnt through experience instead
- Lacks generalizability - Geese mechanisms of attachment differ to humans
What was Guiton’s Chicken study?
He conducted an experiment involving chicks where they formed attachments to a yellow rubber glove, however later on were able to form new attachments with other chickens through sexual imprinting
