Attachment: animal studies

Question 1

Explain Lorenz’s study on imprinting in Geese

Answer 1

• Geese automatically ‘attach’ to the 1st moving thing they see after hatching and follow it everywhere.
  -> known as imprinting.
• divided greylag goose eggs in 2 groups -> left one with mother and incubated the other eggs.
• the incubated eggs followed him in the same way other eggs followed the mother.
• put both group together -> when released, groups quickly reformed in search of respective ‘mothers’.
  -> imprinted on the 1st moving object they saw.

Question 2

Evaluate Lorenz’s study on imprinting in Geese

Answer 2

(+) Determined imprinting was between 13-16 hours of hatching.
-> seems to occur during the ‘artificial period’ -> a fast automatic process.
(-) can’t be generalised to humans -> attachments take longer to develop and we don’t automatically attach to particular things.
-> quality care is more important.

Question 3

Explain Harlow’s monkeys experiment and the need for ‘contact comfort’

Answer 3

• babies don’t automatically attach to the feeder -> attaches to sensitive and loving carer.
• method: discover whether monkeys preferred source of food or comfort/protection from an attachment figure.
• lab experiment: rhesus monkeys had 2 ‘surrogate’ mothers.
  -> one was made of wire mesh and contained a feeding bottle.
  -> one simply made of cloth.
• results: the cloth mother gave comfort in new situations.
  -> spent more time clinging to the cloth mother.
• when they grew up -> signs of social and emotional disturbance.
• conclusion: infant monkeys formed attachment with the figure that gave comfort and protection.
  -> isolation affected development.

Question 4

Evaluate Harlow’s monkey experiment

Answer 4

(+) lab experiment -> strict control of variables.
(-) can’t generalise to humans -> monkeys are qualitatively different.
(-) ethical problems -> stressful situations -> psychologically damaged.
-> fact that they grew in isolation also negates the ecological validity -> were not in natural environmental, can’t be reliably applied to real life.
(-) lab studies usually are replicable -> however there are ethical guidelines now prevent this study being repeated.

Question 5

Explain Harlow and Zimmerman’s variation of the Harlow monkeys

Answer 5

• added a fearful stimulus.
• when fearful object (e.g. large toys) placed in cage, monkey would cling to cloth surrogate.
  -> monkeys with only would only freeze or run around.
• conclusion: strong attachment with primary caregiver is important.

Question 6

Explain Harlow and Suomi’s variation of the monkeys with FOOD

Answer 6

• when they placed the cloth surrogate WITH FOOD and a cloth surrogate WITHOUT FOOD, they found that the one with food was preferred.
• conclusion: food may still be a factor in attachment.

Question 7

evaluate animal studies

Answer 7

(-) Hard to generalise -> animal behaviour may be different to human.
-> Lorenz used precocial species (have eyes open and can walk from birth).
-> very different from human babies.
(+) although results can’t always be generalisable.
-> often influences polices and theories in different areas of research.

ethics:
(+) some research couldn’t be conducted on humans ethically -> e.g. Harlow’s study of attachment.
(-) disadvantage: unethical to inflict suffering on animals, can’t give consent.