Animal Studies of Attachment

Question 1

Lorenz procedure

Answer 1

• goslings were hatched either with their mother, their natural environment or in an incubator where the first thing they saw was Lorenz

Question 2

Lorenz Findings

Answer 2

• once the geese mixed together, that the incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere, but the experimental group followed Lorenz

Question 3

Lorenz conclusion

Answer 3

• imprinting, where the geese attach and follow the first moving object they saw
• Lorenz concluded a critical period in which imprinting needs to occur and if it does not occur in a specific time period, Lorenz found they could not attach themselves to a mother figure

Question 4

Harlow Procedure

Answer 4

16 rhesus monkeys with two wire model mothers with one condition, milk was dispensed by a plain wire mother and in another condition, milk was dispensed by a cloth covered mother

Question 5

Harlows findings

Answer 5

the rhesus monkeys would show attachment behaviour towards a cloth covered surrogate mother when frightened rather than a food dispensing surrogate mother

Question 6

Harlows conclusion

Answer 6

• contact comfort was of more importance to the monkeys when it came to attachment behaviour
• the critical period for monkeys was 90 days for a mother figure to be introduced and become attached to, after 90 days the damage became irreversible and attachment is impossible to form.

Question 7

What did Harlow find out about the monkeys who were maternally deprived later in life?

Answer 7

• they did not develop normal social behaviour
• they were more aggressive, and less socialble then other monkeys
• they bred less often and were unskilled at mating
• some monkeys neglected their child and killed them in some cases

Question 8

Ethical issues Harlow

Answer 8

• monkeys suffered permanent damage and seen to be quite human like so we can assume the same effects of this damage.
• however, this research Is significantly important to humans and may justify the effect

Question 9

Practical Value Harlow

Answer 9

• it has helped social workers understand the risk of neglect and abuse so intervene to prevent it
• also now know how to look after monkeys such as importance of their mothers

Question 10

Generalisability Lorenz

Answer 10

• although his findings have influenced our understanding to human development, there is a problem in generalising birds to humans since the mammalian attachment system is quite different from birds e.g. mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to their child