Animal studies of attachment

Question 1

Outline Lorenz’ research into imprinting.

Answer 1

Procedure: 50% gosling saw Lorenz when hatched, 50% saw mother goose

Findings: when put together the goslings who had seen Lorenz as the first moving object had attached onto him. This is called imprinting

Question 2

What is sexual imprinting?

Answer 2

Sexual imprinting: adult birds e.g. peacock tried to mate with species they imprint on e.g. giant tortoise

Question 3

Evaluate Lorenz’ research.

Answer 3

Strengths:
+ Chicks imprinted on moving shapes such as triangles when they were exposed to them and the first thing they saw. This suggests the animals are born with an innate ability to imprint during a critical period (Regolin and Vallortigara)
+Research support
Chicks imprinted onto a yellow glove when it was worn by a person feeding the chicks.
Weaknesses:
-Lacks generalisability: attachment systems in birds are less complex than humans which are also more reciprocal and a two way process
-The use of animals in research can be questioned on ethical grounds. It could be argued that animals have a right not to be researched/ harmed. The pursuit of academic conclusions for human benefits could be seen as detrimental to non-human species.

Question 4

Outline Harlow’s research in Rhesus monkeys.

Answer 4

Procedure: baby monkeys raised on ‘cloth mother’ or ‘wire mother’

Findings: baby monkey went to cloth mother when frightened. Went to cloth mother even
when it did not dispense milk

Long term effects: Monkeys with wire mothers were dysfunctional, had issues forming relationships with others, had violent social behaviours.

Question 5

Evaluate Harlow’s research.

Answer 5

Strengths:
+Real world application: helped with breeding programmes for animals and showed how important the bond is.
+Real world application: helped clinical psychologists and social workers understand how important the emotional bond is between children and parents so they can intervene to prevent poor outcomes.
Weaknesses:
-Lacks generalisability: the human brain and behaviour is more complex than monkey’s
-Ethical issues: the procedure caused the monkey’s long-term psychological harm.
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