animal studies of attachment

Question 1

Lorenz aim and method

Answer 1

to study attachment process in geese, randomly divided fertile goose eggs into 2 groups - half placed with mother and other half kept in an incubator until ready to hatch to ensure he was the first thing the birds saw when hatched

Question 2

Lorenz results and conclusion

Answer 2

incubator hatchlings followed Lorenz instead of their mother, Lorenz even mixed them and they quickly seperated into the 2 groups = Lorenz refered to this behaviour as imprinting and believed it to be a survival response and an adaptive behaviour not a learned response, he concluded this only occurs in the critical period and is irreversible

Question 3

evaluation of Lorenz

Answer 3

• problem with generalising findings of birds to humans - mammalian attachment system is different to birds as the mothers show more emotional attachment to children so may be able to form attachments at any time=not appropriate
• observations may be too deterministic - idea that imprinting has a permanent effect on mating behaviour has been proved wrong by Guitan (chicks imprinted on a yellow glove and try mating with it but learned to mate with other chicks) = not as permanent

Question 4

Harlow aim and method

Answer 4

aimed to study effect of a lack of a care giving figure on the attachment of infant rhesus monkeys
infant monkeys seperated from mother at birth and reared in isolation in seperate cages, each cage contained 2 fake mother figures a wire frame which dispensed food and a frame covered in cloth - time spent with each surrogate mother was recorded

Question 5

Harlow results and conclusion

Answer 5

monkeys spent more time with the soft, non food dispensing mother, ran and clung to it when frightened and used it as a secure base.
= attachment is dependant on the availability of contact comfort not food
also the monkeys couldnt interact normally with their peers and couldnt form an attachment with their own infants = lack of attachment can have negative consequences on social and emotional development

Question 6

evaluation of Harlow

Answer 6

• had a profound effect on psychologists understanding of human attachment, he showed attachment doesnt develop as a result of being fed but contact comfort + importance of quality of early relationships for later social development