Animal Studies Of Attachment Flashcards
What was Konrad Lorenz?
An ethologist
What did Lorenz do?
Randomly divided geese eggs
Half of the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in the natural environment
The other half hatched in an incubator- the first moving object they saw was Lorenz
Findings of Lorenz’s experiment?
Incubator group- followed Lorenz
Control group- followed mother
What is imprinting?
Bird species that are mobile from birth attach to and follow the first moving object they see
When does imprinting happen?
Critical period in which imprinting needs to happen- a few hours after birth
If this does not happen, then there is no attachment
Lorenz proposed this theory
What happened to birds that imprinted on a human?
They later displayed courtship behaviour towards humans
Peacock (sexual imprinting)?
Peacock was reared in the reptile house of a zoo- the first moving object it saw was a giant tortoise
Bird would direct courtship towards tortoise
Guiton et al?
Chickens imprinted on the yellow washing up glove
Chickens later learnt to mate with other chickens- not as irreversible as Lorenz first suggested
AO3 Lorenz- generalisability?
Lack of generalisability
Animals can’t be compared to humans- too complex
Birds are mobile from birth- humans are not
Lorenz- AO3?
Real world examples
Fly away home (film)
Canadian geese imprinted on the little girl as they did not have a mother
What type of monkeys did Harry Harlow use and why?
Rhesus monkeys- more similar to humans than Lorenz’s birds
What did Harlow examine?
Examined if contact comfort or food was more important in forming attachment
How many monkeys did Harlow use?
16
What did the monkeys cuddle?
The cloth-covered money- they sought comfort
When does the mother figure have to be introduced for attachment to form?
Within 90 days
What did Harlow say about the critical attachment period?
After 90 days, attachment is impossible if it was not formed in the first 90 days
Damage is irreversible
Ethical concerns about Harlow’s experiment?
Long-term physical and psychological damage
No informed consent and no right to withdraw
Monkeys had no space to live and move- different to their natural habitat
Extraneous variable in monkey experiment?
The face of the wire monkey was different to the face of the towelled monkey
Could have become a confounding variable
Question the internal validity
Real world application of harry harlow study?
Babies need security and comfort- helps parenting
Babies need comfort and love
