Animal studies of attachment Flashcards
Lorenz 1952 - imprinting
Imprinting is an innate readiness to develop a strong Bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time in development- if doesn’t happen in critical period wont happen at all (irreversible and long-lasting)
Lorenz geese study procedure
Randomly divided goose eggs- half hatched incubator, first sight was Lorenz others naturally and saw mother.
Observed groups to see who/what they followed- behaviour recorded
Varied time between birth and seeing moving object so could measure critical period
Lorenz findings
Each gosling went to mother figure after released from box- formed picture of object to follow
Imprinting occurs btwn 4 and 25 hours after hatching- influenced bowlbys idea of critical period
Lorenz conclusions
Process of imprinting natural instinct and cause goslings to imprint on first thing they saw.
His research suggests organisms have a biological predisposition to form attachments to one single subject
- refutes stages of attachment and multiple attachments bc only attaches to 1 person
Lorenz AO3
Practical implications: attachment formation under biological control and happens in critical period- helped to form basis on which Bowlby based his
theory on which is very influential
Generalisability: weakness, lacks it. Used geese not humans, huge physiological and psychological differences between geese and humans- born mobile, produce more offspring, imprinting relevant to animals. Unlikely to reflect humans
Contradictory research: Guiton et al. Chickens that imprinted on washing up gloves tried to mate them later (Lorenz said this) but learned to prefer mating with other chickens- not as permanent as thought.
Sluckin 1966- same but with ducklings, kept 1 in isolation for up to 5 days still could imprint after critical period- so not consistent, validity is in q
Harlow 1958 aim
Study mechanisms by which newborn rhesus monkeys bond with their mothers
Harlow procedure
Separated rhesus monkeys from mothers into a controlled environment, raised in cages with two types of ‘surrogate mothers’
Mother 1- made of wire and had baby bottle attached to it
Mother 2- soft terrycloth with no bottle
Recorded how long spent with each mother
Believed when scared would prefer seek comfort with cloth mother, tested by putting mechanical toy with Loud noise in cage and observed
Followed monkeys who had been deprived of real mother to see if maternal deprivation has permanent effect- long effects such as relationship with offspring and sociability with monkeys
Harlow findings
Significantly longer with cloth mother
In social environment- healthy adults
in isolation monkeys with surrogate displayed dysfunctional behaviour: timid, unpredictable, difficulty mating, females inadequate mothers
Behaviours occurred if monkey with surrogate for more than 90 days, if less- effects can be reversed
Harlow conclusion
Monkey have an innate, unlearned need for comfort, suggesting attachment concerns emotional security more than food
Suggests critical period- 90 days, after eagerly deprivation damage was irreversible
Harlow AO3
Practical applications: profound implications for childcare- child psychical needs not enough for long-term development. Maternity period (idea of critical period) allows create special bond
Ethical Considerations: monkeys suffered long-term negative effects- unethical as emotional harm and advanced to adulthood
HOWEVER: if animals are exposed to suffering, costs to animals must be justified by scientific benefit of the work. His research may be justified bc laws were made in 1986- didn’t break any laws
Generalisability: lacks it, using monkeys, monkeys have predators so need protecting- unlikely to reflect bond with humans
BUT
Share 90% of DNA with them so generalisations can be made?
High internal validity: was in a lab, controlled. Ensure factors affecting formation of attachment were controlled for. Cause and effect conclusions to be drawn.
BUT
Wasn’t necessarily measuring real-life attachment formation
