Animal studies Flashcards
Lorenz- research support for imprinting and cp
There are a number of studies that have demonstrated imprinting in animals thus supporting Lorenz’s research. For example, Guiton1966) exposed leghorn chicks to yellow rubber gloves whilst feeding them, during their first few weeks after birth. They found that they became imprinted on the glove. This supports the view that young animals are not born with a predisposition to imprint on a specific object but on any moving object that is present during the critical window of development. This suggests there is a ‘window of opportunity’ (critical period) in which attachments must be formed otherwise this may lead to negative long-term consequences, this was also found to
be true of humans in Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation.
Lorenz pt 2
However, many psychologists now dispute Lorenz’s view that imprinting is IRREVERSIBLE (permanent). In Guiton’s research, when the chickens matured and spent some time with their own species, they engaged in normal mating behaviour. This therefore illustrates
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how imprinting CAN be reversed beyond the critical window of development, like many other forms of learning. In humans it has also been found that the critical period may be more of a sensitive period’ as studies, such as the Romanian orphan studies, have demonstrated that children have been able to recover from the effects of early deprivation.
Harlow- 1 (practical applications)
strength of Harlow’s research is that it went against the dominant belief that attachment was related to physical care (i.e. food) and instead showed the importance of emotional care. This was further supported in human studies, Schaffer and Emerson found mothers responsiveness mattered most in the formation of attachment between caregiver and infant. This led to important practical applications with both humans and animals. For example, it has helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse and so intervene to prevent it (Howe, 1998). These findings were also important in the care of captive monkeys as we now understand the importance of adequate attachment figures for babies in zoos and also in breeding programmes in the wild. This therefore illustrates how Harlow’s research has been used in a number ofcontexts and has practical value.
Problems of extrapolation to human attachment-
-Although a strength of animals
studies is that that they have influenced research into human attachment such as Bowlby’s idea of a critical period in human babies and they have influenced our understanding of human development, there is a problem of extrapolating (generalising) from findings on animals to humans. Human attachment behaviour is very different to other animals especially as much more of our behaviour is governed by conscious decisions. Mammalian mothers for example, show more emotional attachment to their young than birds do. This means that it may not be appropriate to try and generalise the work from animal studies in order to explain human attachment (IS, R)
