Attachment 10-12 Flashcards
what were the 2 animal studies
Lorenz (1935)
Harlow (1959)
describe the procedure of Harlow (1959)
Procedure - Harlow created two wire ‘mothers’. One wire mother was wrapped in
a soft cloth. Eight infant rhesus monkeys were separated from their mother at
birth and were studied for a period of 165 days. They were placed in a cage with
the two wire mothers. Four of the monkeys received milk from the cloth
mother, the other four received milk from the exposed wire mother. During the
165 days, the time that the monkeys spent with each of the two mothers was
measured. Observations were made of the monkey’s responses to being
frightened by a mechanical teddy bear and how they coped with exploring a new
room full of unfamiliar toys.
describe the findings of Harlow (1959)
Findings - All eight monkeys spent most of their time on the soft cloth mother,
regardless of whether this mother was the one with the feeding bottle or not.
Those monkeys who were fed by the exposed wire mother only stayed on it long
enough to get milk and then returned to the soft cloth mother. When
frightened by a mechanical teddy bear all monkeys clung to the soft cloth
mother, and when playing with new objects the monkeys kept one foot on the
soft cloth mother. When placed in a new environment they were not confident
enough to explore the room unless the soft cloth mother was with them.
describe the Long Term Effects of Harlow (1959)
but…
Long Term Effects:
- Harlow (1959) continued to study the eight monkeys as they grew up. The monkeys developed abnormally, they froze or fled when approached by other monkeys.
- They did not show normal mating behaviour and did not cradle their own babies. If the monkeys spent time with other monkeys then they could recover but only if this happened before they were three months old. Having more than three months with only a wire mother was something they could not recover from
describe the procedure of Lorenz (1935)
Konrad Lorenz was an ethologist (they study animal behaviour in
their natural environment). He wanted to investigate imprinting (the instinct in
several species of animals to attach to the first moving thing they see after
they are born). Lorenz (1935) took a clutch of Gosling (Goose) eggs and divided
them into two groups. One group was left to hatch with their natural mother
present, while the other eggs were placed in an incubator. When the eggs in the
incubator hatched the first moving thing they saw was Lorenz. Lorenz marked
the two groups to distinguish between them and placed them all together again.
describe the findings of Lorenz (1935)
- The Goslings quickly divided themselves up, one group following their natural mother and the other (the ones from the incubator) following Lorenz.
- The Goslings that had been in the incubator showed no recognition of their natural mother. Lorenz found that that this process of imprinting is restricted to a very definite period of a young animal’s life, called a critical period. If a young animal is not exposed to a moving object during this early critical period
then the animal will not imprint. - Animals imprint on consistently moving objects during their first two days. Imprinting is similar to attachment in that it binds an animal to a caregiver in a special relationship.
- Lorenz (1935) had to teach the goslings how to swim and they would always return to him when he called.
describe the Long Term Effects of Lorenz (1935)
- Lorenz (1935) noted several features of imprinting, for example the process is irreversible and long lasting. One of the Geese that imprinted on him, called Martina, used to sleep on his bed every night. Lorenz (1935) also discovered that this early imprinting had an effect on later mating preferences, called sexual imprinting. Animals (especially birds) will choose to mate with the same kind of object upon which they were imprinted.
evaluate Lorenz (1935)
+ Imprinting is similar to the idea of a critical period in Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory. In both cases there is a ‘window of opportunity’ in which attachments must be formed otherwise there will be negative long-term consequences.
+ Other studies support the idea that animals are born with an instinct to attach to the first moving object they see. Gutton (1966) demonstrated that chickens exposed to yellow rubber gloves during feeding in their first few weeks of life imprinted on the gloves.
- Imprinting is more reversible than Lorenz thought. Gutton (1966) found that he could reverse the imprinting in chickens that had initially tried to mate with the yellow rubber gloves. After spending time with their own species they were able to engage in normal sexual behaviour with other chickens.
- It is problematic to extrapolate the findings from animal studies to attachment in human infants. What applies to a non-human species does not necessarily apply to human infants. Humans are physiologically very different from monkeys/geese as well as having several other influences that monkeys/geese do not have, such as culture, society, peers, upbringing etc. The attachment bond between human infants and their attachment figures is far more complex than in monkeys/geese. For instance, there are several different types of attachment styles that human infants can have (e.g. secure, avoidant, resistant). Harlow’s study may be more relevant to human experience as it uses a mammalian species.
evaluate Harlow (1959)
+ This study has implications for theories for attachment. Harlow’s suggestion
that comfort/sensitive responsiveness is more important than food contradicts
learning theory.
+ This study highlights the implications of early neglect and the long-term
consequences of poor attachment in childhood for future relationships. This fits
with Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory. However, in humans this may be more
of a sensitive period as studies have demonstrated how children have been able
to recover from early deprivation (e.g. Romanian orphan studies).
+ Schaffer and Emerson (1964) also found that food is not necessary for
attachment to form. They discovered that babies are often attached to people
who play with them, rather than people who feed them. In 39% of cases even
though the mother was the one who fed the baby the baby was more attached
to someone else.
- This study could be considered to be unethical. The monkeys were removed
from their mothers, which would have been very traumatic, and they were then
deliberately scared to see how they would react. This led to long-term
emotional harm, when these monkeys were older and encountered other monkeys
they either froze or fled. They also had difficulty caring for their own young
(did not cradle them) as they had not been cared for themselves.
what is the study surrounding The Influence of Early Attachment on Childhood Relationships
Sroufe et al. (2005)
This study was called the Minnesota Parent-Child Project. It began in 1975 and the mother-child pairs continue to be studied today.
describe the procedure of Sroufe et al. (2005)
Since 1975 the mothers’ and the childrens’ behaviour has been assessed using
questionnaires and observations. For example, the mothers and children were
videotaped (intra-observer reliability) while playing for a period of 10-15
minutes at home. The mothers were aware that they were being videotaped
(possible social desirability bias). Two observers analysed the recordings
(inter-observer reliability).
describe the findings of Sroufe et al. (2005)
As children, those who were classed as securely attached as infants were;
- rated the highest for social competence
- were less socially isolated,
- were more popular with their peers,
- were more empathetic.
An infant’s early attachment creates their internal working model of what relationships are, how partners in a relationship behave towards each other and what they should expect of a relationship. Those who are securely attached will have a positive internal working model for relationships and so are better at forming and maintaining relationships with others.
Explain the long-term effects in Sroufe et al. (2005)
If infants do not have an early attachment during the critical period this would result in a lack of an internal working model for attachment. This could lead to attachment disorder where children have no preferred attachment figure, and an inability to interact and relate to others. This becomes evident from the age of five and is usually caused by severe neglect or frequent change of caregivers.
evaluate Sroufe et al. (2005)
+ This study is reliable. Simpson et al. (2007) found similar results; they
assessed infant attachment styles at one year of age. Several studies have
found that children who were securely attached as infants were rated as having
higher social competence as children and were closer to their friends aged 16.
- This study claims that early experiences have a fixed effect on later
childhood relationships and therefore children who are insecurely attached as
infants are doomed to experience emotionally unsatisfactory relationships as
children. It is therefore deterministic (does not take account of people’s free
will to make conscious decisions about their behaviour).
- There are lots of studies which contradict the claim that early attachment
affects later childhood relationships. Tizard and Hodges (1989) found that
children raised in care who had never formed any attachments by the age of
four, and were then adopted, could still form attachments to their new adopted
parents.
describe the study surrounding The Influence of Early Attachment on Adult Relationships
Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver designed a study to test the connection between
a person’s infant attachment style, their internal working model, and their
adult attachment style.
