animal studies of attachment Flashcards
lorenz aim
to investigate the mechanisms of imprinting
lorenz procedure
hatched one batch of goslings with him and not the natural mother, labelled them and placed them under a box and when the box was removed they went to Lorenz and not the natural mother
lorenz critical period
Between 12 and 17 hours
critical period
the time in which attachment must occur
imprinting
a form of attachment exhibited mainly by nidifugous birds whereby close contact is kept with the first moving object encountered
imprinting: Evolution
The young must remain close to the mother to be protected and survive and has evolved via natural selection
harlow aim
to test learning theory by comparing attachment behaviour in baby monkeys given different mothers
harlow sample
16 monkeys, 4 in each condition
Harlow: Conditions
Cage with wire mother producing milk and a towelling mother not producing milk
Cage with wire mother not producing milk and a towelling mother producing milk
Cage containing a wire mother producing milk
Cage containing a towelling mother producing milk
Harlow: Procedure
The monkeys were frightened with a loud noise to test for mother preference and a larger cage was used to test the monkeys degree of exploration
Harlow: Results
Monkeys preferred contact with the towelling mother. Those with only a wire surrogate showed signs of stress. When frightened monkeys clung to the towelling mother
Harlow: Conclusions
Contact comfort is associated with lower levels of stress and a willingness to explore, indicating emotional security
Harlow: Long Term Effects
Abnormal social behaviour, more aggressive, unskilled in mating, poor mothers who neglected and mistreated their own children
Lorenz: Generalisability
Mammals show more emotional attachment and can form attachment at any time though it’s easier in infancy
Guiton et al (1966)
Research found that chickens who imprinted on washing up gloves would try and mate with them as adults before realising they preferred mating with other chickens
