Animal Studies + Learning Theories Of Attachment

Question 1

Define imprinting

Answer 1

At-first-sight attachment

Question 2

Outline Lorenz’s research (1935) into attachment in geese

Answer 2

• took a large clutch of 12 geese eggs and randomly divided them, half hatched with the mother goose and the other half were put in an incubator to hatch with Lorenz
• Lorenz was the first moving thing they saw
• the geese imprinted on Lorenz during the critical period that Lorenz identified as 12-32 hours after hatching
• if no attachment forms within the first 32 hours it is unlikely any attachment will be formed

Question 3

What is a critical period

Answer 3

Window of time to form a healthy attachment

Question 4

What is sexual imprinting. Suggest research that supports this idea.

Answer 4

Sexual imprinting is when adult mating behaviour is affected by initial attachment. In Lorenz’s case study (1952) he found that a peacock that hatched with giant tortoises showed courtship behaviour towards them.

Question 5

AO3 evaluate Lorenz’s animal research into attachment

Answer 5

+ findings in line with Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment
- generalisability to humans, hard to apply findings about geese to human behaviour. Animals lack conscious thoughts
- has been criticised as Lorenz believed imprinting was permanent and long-lasting whereas Guiton et al. found that chickens which imprinted on a rubber glove and showed mating behaviour towards it could be socialised and mate with other chickens
+ Lorenz repeated his study many times with many variations and found consistent results

Question 6

Outline Harlow’s research (1959) into attachment in monkeys

Answer 6

AIM- to show attachment isn’t based on food
METHOD-
- 16 monkey separated immediately at birth and placed into cages with 2 fake mothers. Cloth and wire
- 8 monkeys got milk from the wire mother and the other 8 got milk from the cloth mother
FINDINGS-
- both group spent more time with the cloth mother
- if frightening object was placed in their cages all monkeys would take refuge with the cloth mother
- monkeys left for 90+ days had problems socialising and were aggressive or timid
- if removed before 90 days effects could be reversed suggesting that 90 days could be the critical period

Question 7

What conclusions can be made from Harlow’s (1959) research

Answer 7

• REJECTS CUPBOARD LOVE THEORY, could suggest that infants do not form attachments with those who give them food but those who give them the most comfort
• ATTACHMENT IS IMPORTANT FOR DEVELOPMENT, as the monkeys grew up the effects of their rearing lasted, and the monkeys struggled emotionally and socially which shows the importance of early attachment on adulthood
• CRITICAL PERIOD, emotional and social damage is only reversible if Ana t attachment case be formed within the critical period

Question 8

AO3 evaluate Harlow’s research (1959)

Answer 8

• one criticism is that the material used for the make mothers wasn’t the only difference, the heads of the fake mothers were different. This acts as a confounding variable. LACKS INTERNAL VALIDITY
• difficulty generalising behaviour to humans, however, there are links between Harlow’s research and Schaffer and Emersons (attachments aren’t formed through feeding)
• there are links between the critical periods, IWM and attachment being innate (human attachment) and animal research
• ethically questionable, harm done to monkeys however the findings have been applied to many areas for example, animal in captivity, breeding programmes, and understanding of child neglect and abuse.

Question 9

What does learning theory suggest about attachment

Answer 9

Explaining attachment is learnt rather than any inborn tendencies or high order thinking

Question 10

Explain how classical conditioning can be used to explain attachment

Answer 10

Classical conditioning- learning through association
- suggests that infants associate the pleasure they get from being fed with the PCG

UCS= food 
UCR= pleasure
NS= primary caregiver 
CS= primary caregiver
CR= pleasure

Question 11

Explain how operant conditioning can be used to explain attachment

Answer 11

Operant conditioning- learning through reinforcement

• infants have a primary drive (hunger) which ten motivates behaviour like crying
• when the infant is fed it reduces this drive and gives a feeling of pleasure (negative reinforcement)
• over time the person who supplies the food becomes the secondary reinforcer as the infant has associated them with relieving discomfort
• attachment occurs because the child seeks the person who can supply the reward

Question 12

Explain how social learning theory can be used to explain attachment

Answer 12

Social learning theory- learning by observing others and imitating behaviours that are rewarded
- suggests that infants observe their parent intimate behaviour and copy it

Question 13

AO3 evaluation of learning theories as an explanation for attachment

Answer 13

• learning theories are largely supported by animal studies which are hard to apply to human behaviour. Humans are much more complex than animals
• Lorenz’s geese imprinted without the presence of food
• Harlow (1959) provided strong evidence that attachment is not associated with food
• Bowlby offers a much more complete explanation of attachment

Question 14

what does Lorenz’s research tell us about human attachment

Answer 14

• supports the idea of a critical period
• supports the idea that attachment has an effect on a child’s development similar to Bowlby’s internal working model
• supports the idea that attachment is innate

Question 15

what is ethology

Answer 15

the study of non-human animals in order to learn more about humans