animal studies of attachment

Question 1

lorenz- imprinting

Answer 1

found that geese automatically attach to the first moving thing they see after hatching
randomly divided a clutch of greylag goose eggs into two groups
left one group with the mother and incubated the other
Lorenz observed that the goslings from the incubator followed him around in the exact way that they goslings would follow their mother
he put both sets back together of which quickly reformed into their original groups in search for their primary attachment figure.
found that the critical period for imprinting is around 13 to 16 hours after hatching concluded its a fast automatic process

Question 2

Harlow- monkeys and the need for contact comfort

Answer 2

aimed to find out if monkeys preferred a source of food or a source of comfort as an attachment figure
in a lab rhesus monkeys were raised in isolation
had two surrogate mothers one made of a wire mesh with feeding bottle and one made of cloth without
the monkeys spent most of their time clinging to the cloth surrogate and only used wire for feeding
cloth mothers gave them comfort in new situations
grew up socially and mentally disturbed
females were poor mothers violent towards their offspring

Question 3

Harlow evaluation

Answer 3

+laboratory experiment unlikely for extraneous variables to conflict with results - reliable
- can’t easily generalise the findings humans and monkeys are quantitatively different
-ethical issues monkeys raised in isolation causing emotional stress later on
- monkeys aren’t typically raised in isolation and raised with a cloth surrogate so lacked ecological validity
- can’t be replicated due ti new ethical guidelines

Question 4

Harlow later experiment

Answer 4

Added a fearful stimulus - when added the monkey would initially cling to the cloth surrogate begire exploring
Those in a cage with wire surrogate remained frozen or would run wildly around the cage
Concluded that a comfort primary caregiver is imperative in an infants development

Question 5

Lorenz evaluation

Answer 5

• used a precocial species meaning they can open their eyes and walk from birth- difficult to generalise to human behaviour
  + influences policies in infant care