Animal Studies of Attachment - Harlow Flashcards
what was the aim of Harlow’s(1959) study
to test learning theory by comparing attachment behaviour in baby monkeys given a wire surrogate mother producing milk with those given a soft towelling mother producing no milk.
what was the procedure of Harlow’s(1959) study
Two types of surrogate mother were constructed - a harsh ‘wire mother’ AND a soft ‘towelling mother’ (that provided ‘contact-comfort’).
Sixteen baby monkeys were used, four in each of four conditions (IV):
1)A cage containing a wire mother producing milk and a towelling mother producing no milk
2)A cage containing a wire mother producing no milk and a towelling mother producing milk
3)A cage containing a wire mother producing milk (control)
4)A cage containing a towelling mother producing milk (control)
what were the three dependent variables in the study
The amount of time spent with each ‘mother’, as well as feeding time, was recorded.
The monkeys were frightened with a loud noise to test for mother preference during stress.
A larger cage was also used to test the monkeys’ degree of exploration.
what were the findings of Harlow’s(1959) study
Monkeys preferred contact with the towelling mother (spending, on average, 18 hours a day cuddling against her, compared to less than 2 hours a day against the food mother) when given a choice of surrogate mothers, regardless of whether she produced milk; they even stretched across to the wire mother to feed while still clinging to the towelling mother.
Monkeys with only a wire surrogate had diarrhoea (a sign of stress).
When frightened by a loud noise, monkeys clung to the towelling mother in conditions where she was available.
In the larger cage conditions, monkeys with towelling mothers explored more and visited their surrogate mother more often.
what were the conclusions of Harlow’s(1959) study
Infants do not develop an attachment to the person who feeds them, but to the person offering contact-comfort – attachment therefore concerns emotional security more than food (undermining the Learning Theory of Attachment).
Contact-comfort is associated with lower levels of stress and a willingness to explore, indicating emotional security.
Use of Animals – Extrapolation Issues
We cannot necessarily generalise the results to humans.
Humans differ in important ways; much more of their behaviour is governed by conscious decisions.
Although animal studies can act as a useful pointer in understanding human behaviour, we should always seek confirmation by looking at research with humans.
Ethical Issues involving the separation of baby monkeys and the stress caused to them
- The study created lasting emotional harm as the monkeys later found it difficult to form relationships with their peers.
Harlow reported that the motherless monkeys, even those who did have contact comfort were socially abnormal - they froze or fled when approached by other monkeys.
They were sexually abnormal - they did not show normal mating behaviour and did not cradle their own babies (…lack of an internal working model).
Confounding Variable
One criticism that has been made of Harlow’s study is that the two stimulus objects varied in more ways than being cloth-covered or not (the IV).
The two heads were also different, which acted as a confounding variable because it varied systematically with the independent variable.
- It is possible that the reason the infant monkeys preferred one ‘mother’ to the other was because the cloth-covered mother had a more attractive head.
- Therefore, the conclusions of this study lack internal validity
