Animal Studies Flashcards
What was the aim of lorenz study?
– Lorenz conducted research on imprinting on geese
– He set up an experiment with a clutch of goose eggs to test the phenomenon of imprinting
What was the procedure of Lorenz?
1– Lawrence randomly split a batch of GREYLAG goose eggs into two groups.
2 – one group has by their mother the other were hatched in an incubator by the first moving object they saw was the end (experimental group).
3– the behaviour of the geese was carefully observed
– Lorenz also observed the effect of imprinting on adult mate preferences.
What was the findings of Lorenz
The experimental group imprinted on Lorenz; demonstrated by the fact they followed him wherever he went.
– the control group hatched imprinted on their mother.
– when the two groups are mixed up, the control group would still follow their mother and the experimental group would still follow Lorenz.
– He noticed imprinting would only occur within a CRITICAL PERIOD (4-25 hours).
-Lorenz reported that geese who imprinted on a human would later display courtship behaviour towards humans
What is a case study supporting Lorenz? ( sexual imprinting )
In a custody, Lorenz described a peacock that had been read in a reptile house of a zoo, where the first moving object was a giant tortoise.
– As an adult the bird would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises.
– Lorenz concluded that this meant the peacock had undergone sexual imprinting.
What is real life application of Lorenz?
(Imrrinting)
Sheep learn to recognise their own baby by process we caught imprinting. They will not care for a lamb on which they have not imprinted.
– by taking the fleece of a dead lamb , one the mother has imprinted on and placing it on a different lamb, the farmer is fooling the mother into responding to the lamb as it were her own.
What was the aim of Harlow’s study?
Harry Harlow carried out one of the most important pieces of animal research in terms of informing our understanding of attachment.
– He used RHESUS monkeys which are more similar to humans than birds
What was the procedure of Harlow?
1- Harlow reares 16 baby RHESUS monkeys with two surrogate mothers. One of the mothers was made out of wire and the other was covered in soft material. The wire mother produced milk whereas the cloth covered mother did not.
2-the amount of time spent with each mother as well as feeding time, was recorded.
3– The monkeys were deliberately farted with a loud noise to test for mother preference during stress.
4- Long-term effects were recorded: e.g. the monkeys behaviour in adulthood in terms of sociability and their relationship to their own offspring.
What was findings of Harlow?
– The monkey spent most of their time on their cloth mother even though she did not supply milk.
– The cloth mother provided CONTACT COMFORT which was clearly preferable.
– the monkeys even stretched across to the wire mother to feed whilst still clinging to the cloth mother.
– when frightened the monkeys clung to the cloth mother.
As adults, the monkeys were ABUSIVE to the offspring even killing them in some cases. The monkeys were also more AGGRESSIVE and less sociable than other monkeys.
What is a strength of harlows study?
P-it has real world application
E- Harlows study had a profound effect on psychologists understanding of mother infant attachments.
– harlow showed that attachment does not develop as the result of being fed by a mother figure (as the learning area would suggest) but as a result of CONTACT COMFORT.
– he also showed the importance of the quality of early relationships for later social development.
L-therefore this research has led to important developments in the area of attachment AND psychologists can give more advice to mothers.
What is one weakness of Harlows study?
P– it breaks ethical guidelines
E – monkeys were deliberately frightened and stressed and had no protection from harm.
– The stress they were put in also let them to become more aggressive in the future (LONG LASTING HARM)
L-breaking ethical guidelines is a weakness as it undermines the credibility of psychology as a science.
What is one overall evaluation for animal studies?
P – psychologists disagree on the extent to which studies of animals such as geese and rhesus monkeys can be generalised to humans.
E – rhesus monkeys are much similar to humans and Lorenz’s geese and all mammals share some common attachment behaviours. However, the human brain and behaviour is much more complex than that of monkeys.
L – this is a problem because it might not be appropriate to generalise the findings of animal studies to humans.
