animal studies Flashcards
why are animal often used instead of humans? practical reasons
- Ease of studying across generations quickly due to faster breeding and shorter life spans
- Having a large sample easily accessible
why are animal often used instead of humans? ethical reasons
- Studying the effects of poor attachments is unethical so can only be carried out on non-humans
- If the research is important enough the negative impact on the animals can be justified
what are the 2 animal studies?
Harlow’s Monkey Study
Lorenz Gosling Study
what was the aim of harlow’s study?
To test the learning theory of attachment by studying the bond between newborn rhesus monkeys and their varying mothers which provide different things (comfort/milk) to gain a greater understanding/insight.
what was the procedure of harlow’s study?
Harlow created 2 wire mothers; however, one was wrapped in soft cloth.
8 infant rhesus monkeys were studied for a period of 165 days.
Four of the monkeys had the milk bottle on the cloth-covered mother and the other four on the plain wire mother.
The amount of time each infant spent with the two different mothers was recorded, as well as their responses when frightened.
what were harlow’s findings?
All 8 monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth covered mother, even if it didn’t have the feeding bottle, and those who fed from the wire mother spent little time getting milk, then quickly returned to the cloth-covered mother.
When frightened all monkeys clung to the cloth mother, and when playing with new objects the moneys kept one foot on the cloth-covered mother seemingly for reassurance
what was harlow’s conclusion?
Rhesus monkeys have an innate, unlearned need for contact comfort, suggesting that attachment concerns emotional security more than food which suggests that the role of the primary caregiver is not limited to satisfying infants’ primary drives. They provide a sense of security and comfort, creating a bond, and a sense of attachment. This translates, and is reflected between humans, in which children, particularly at a young age, are attached to their parents.
what was the aim of lorenz study?
To investigate the mechanisms of imprinting where the youngsters follow and form an attachment to the first large, moving object that they meet in hopes of gaining a greater understanding of the theory of attachment
what was lorenz procedure?
Lorenz (1935) split a large clutch of greylag goose eggs into two batches. One batch hatch naturally with the mother, the other batch hatched in an incubator with Lorenz making sure that he was the first moving object the goslings encountered.
The gosling’s behaviour was recorded.
what were lorenz findings?
After birth, the naturally hatched baby goslings followed their mother whilst the incubator hatched goslings followed Lorenz around. Lorenz noticed how the process of imprinting occurred only a short period of time after birth between 4 and 25 hours.
what was lorenz conclusion?
Conclusion: Imprinting is a form of attachment, exhibited mainly by nidifugous birds (ones who have to leave the nest early), whereby close contact is kept with the first large moving object encountered.
