Animal studies -EVALUATION

Question 1

LORENZ: one issue with his imprinting study is that it has animal extrapolation

Answer 1

weakness due to GENERALISATION from birds to mammals , as mammals attachment system is DIFFERENT to birds. (mammals more emotional attachment to young)

THEREFORE, Lorenz’s study can be used to support idea of INNATE attachment, but CANT be generalised to humans effectively. more research to be done WITH humans instead.

Question 2

LORENZ: one strength is that his research has research support

Answer 2

other researchers conducted a stud with CHICKS exposed to similar shape combinations, and they found that they followed the original one most closely.

THEREFORE

this suggests that chicks had imprinted on the 1ST moving object they saw, supporting Lorenz’s research into imprinting.

Question 3

HARLOW: one strength is that it has research support from REAL LIFE applications

Answer 3

Howe, found Harlows research has helped social workers understand risk factors in child abuse and neglect, leading to INTERVENTIONS being put in place to prevent this.

findings also helped IMPROVE treatment of captive monkeys, as we can see importance of them having proper attachment figures in breeding programmes

also HIGHLY controlled, meaning the research is internally VALID.

Question 4

HARLOW: limitations is that it has ethical issues such as breaking protection from harm

Answer 4

maternally deprived monkeys were followed into adulthood and found that it had a PERMANENT effect. dysfunctional, aggressive, less sociable, unskilled at mating and kill young.

monkeys chosen as most similar to humans so suffering was human-like. non-reversible, long-term damage.

cost-benefit analysis, benefits outweigh cost as it was a worthwhile piece of research due to the important findings on attachment.