Attachment: Animal Studies Flashcards
what’s Lorenz’s study into imprinting?
He showed that imprinting occurred in a clutch of goose eggs, where half attached to and followed Lorenz around after seeing him as the first moving person after birth. imprinting must occur within the critical period of attachment development (30 months) after attachment isn’t possible and consequences are irreversible.
what’s sexual imprinting?
where animals displayed sexual behaviour towards the first moving object they see directly after birth. Lorenz reported a group of peacocks who were borned surrounded by turtles and only desired to mate with turtles in later life.
what’s the issues with generalisability of Lorenz’s study? (A03)
mammalian attachment systems are different to bird’s attachment systems because mammals can potentially attach during any time during their lives and at greater emotional intensity. this suggests that his findings have low ecological validity as they can’t be generalised beyong research settings.
how was Lorenz wrong about sexual imprinting? (A03)
it’s not as permenant as he believed. Guiton demonstrated that chickens who’d imprinted on washing up gloves eventually learned to prefer other chickens, despite the initial imprinting. this means that learning and experience are more important factors.
what was Harlow’s study?
he deomstrated the importance of contact-comfort with monkey’s and 2 iron mothers. they found that the monkeys were scared of the wire mother who was dispensing milk and seeked comfort with the cloth-bound mothers. this lead to conclusions that contact-comfort was more important than food in the development of attachment.
what developmental issues did Harlow report?
they found the monkeys were less skilled at mating, were aggressive towards their own children and would be socially reclusive. this demonstrates the importance of a secure attachment to a primary caregiver within the critical period.
what’s a strength of Harlow’s research?
it has practical value, especiallhy with the design of zoos and care of animals in shelters. it demonstrates the importance of attachment figures and intellectual stimulation, along side contact-comfort, meaning zoos should ensure animals have the oppotunity to form such attachments to ensure healthy development.
what was a limitation of Harlow’s study? (A03)
there’s some significant ehtical breahces. for example, long-term psychological harm was inflicted on the monkeys, in the form of later learning difficulties, mating and forming secure attachments. a cost-benefit analysis should be conducted to assess whether the ethical costs are smaller or larger than the benefits of improved understanding of attachment
