Animal Studies of Attachment Flashcards
Name two animal studies into attachment.
Lorenz (1935) and Harlow (1958).
What is imprinting?
When an animal forms an attachment to the first moving thing the see after birth.
What is the procedure in Lorenz’s study?
Lorenz set up a classic experiment in which he randomly divided a clutch of eggs. Half of the eggs were hatched by the mother in their natural environment. The other half were hatched in an incubator where Lorenz was the first person they saw.
What were the findings and conclusions of Lorenz’s study?
The incubator geese followed Lorenz everywhere and the geese hatched in the presence of the mother (control group), followed her everywhere. When the two groups were mixed, the control group still followed the mother and the experimental group still followed Lorenz. Lorenz identified the critical period in which attachment needs to take place. This is different for different species.
What is sexual imprinting?
Sexual imprinting is a process whereby mate preferences are affected at a young age, usually by a parent as a model. Lorenz (1952) described a peacock who had been reared in a reptile house with giant tortoises from a young age as showing direct courtship toward giant tortoises.
Evaluation of Lorenz? Is the research generalisable to humans?
There is a problem generalising to humans. It seems that the mammalian attachment system in quite different to that of birds. For example, mammal mothers show more emotional attachment than birds. It may also be that it is easier for infants to form attachments in infancy than in later life, even though it is not impossible.
What type of animal did Harlow study?
Rhesus Monkey
What was the procedure in Harlow’s (1958) study?
He tested the idea that a soft serve object serves some of the functions of a mother. In one experiment he reared 16 baby monkeys with two wire model ‘mothers’. In one condition there was a wire monkey that dispensed milk and in the second condition, it was dispensed by a cloth covered mother.
What were the finding of Harlow’s (1958) study?
He found that baby monkeys cuddled the soft object in preference to the wire one. He also found that in times when frightened, they sought comfort from the cloth mother regardless of which dispensed milk. This showed ‘contact comfort’ was more important than food when it came to attachment behaviour.
How did maternal deprivation effect the monkeys in later life? (Harlow)
Those raised with wire monkeys were the most dysfunctional however those with soft toys did not develop ‘normal’ social behaviour either. They were more aggressive and less sociable than other monkeys. They also bred less due to being unskilled at mating. As mothers, some neglected their young and others attacked them, even killing them in some cases.
What are the ethical issues with Harlow’s research?
The monkeys suffered greatly. If the monkeys are similar enough to study, there suffering was probably similar too. However the research was sufficiently important to ‘justify’ the effects.
What is the theoretical value of Harlow’s research?
Had a profound effect on psychologists understanding of human caregiver- infant attachment. Showed attachment is not due to food but ‘contact comfort’. He also showed the importance of quality of early relationships for future relationships and child-rearing.
What is the practical value of Harlow’s research?
Important applications to real life. It helps social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse- in order to prevent it. The findings are also important in the care of captive monkeys and making sure they develop proper attachments.
