Animal studies of attachment Flashcards
Imprinting
Lorenz: Animal studies of attachment
Procedure: Lorenz randomly divided large clutch of goose eggs
Half hatched w/ mother in nat environment (CG)
Other half hatched in incubater w/ Lorenz as first moving object they saw
Findings: Incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere whereas CG followed mother
When 2 groups mixed up, they continued this behaviour
Lorenz identified critical period where imprinting must take place
If it doesn’t occur in this time, chicks did not attach to a mother figure
Sexual imprinting
Lorenz: Animal studies of attachment
In case study, Lorenz described peacock who was reared in reptile house where 1st moving object seen was a giant tortoise
As an adult, the peacock would direct courtship behaviour toward giant tortoises
Lorenz concluded that the peacock had undergone sexual imprinting
Evaluation: Research support
Lorenz: Animal studies of attachment
Strength: support for concept of imprinting
Regolin & Vallortigara (1995) - chicks exposed to simple shaoe combos that moved
Range of shape combos were then moved in front of them & they followed original
Therefore, this supports view that animals are born w/ mechanism to impront on moving object, as predicted by Lorenz
Evaluation: Generalisability to humans
Lorenz: Animal studies of attachment
Limit: ability to generalise findings from birds to humans
Mammalian attachmnet system is different & more complex than birds
In mammals, attachment is 2-way process, mother and baby form emotional attachment to each other
Therefore, not appropriate to generalise Lorenz’s ideas to humans
Importance of contact comfort
Harlow: Animal studies of attachment
Procedure: He reared 16 baby monkeys w/ 2 wire mothers
In 1st condition, milk dispensed by wire mother
In 2nd condition, milk dispensed by cloth mother
Findings: Monkeys cuddled cloth mother in preference to wire mother & sought comfort from cloth when scared regardless of which mother dispensed milk
Shows contact comfort was more important than food when it came to attachment behaviour
Maternally deprived monkeys as adults
Harlow: Animal studies of attachment
Monkeys reared w/ only wire mother were most dysfunctional
All deprived monkeys were more aggressive & less sociable and bred less than other monkeys
When they become mothers, some neglected their young & others attacked their children, some killing them
The critical period for normal development
Harlow: Animal studies of attachment
A mother figure had to be introduced to a young monkey w/in 90 days for attachment to form
After this time, attachment was impossible & damage done by early dep became irreversible
Evaluation: Real-World value
Harlow: Animal studies of attachment
Strength: important real-world applications
Has helped social workers & clinical psychologists understand a lack of bonding experience may be risk factor in child development allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes (Howe, 1998)
Now understand importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos & breeding programmes in wild
Therefore, value of Harlow’s research is not just theoretical but also practical
Evaluation: Generalisability to humans
Harlow: Animal studies of attachment
Limit: ability to generalise findings from monkeys to humans
Monkeys are much more similar to humans than Lorenz’s birds & all mammals share some common attachment behaviours
However, human brain & behaviour is still more complex than that of monkeys
Therefore, it is not appropriate to generalise Harlow’s findings to humans
