attachment - animal studies Flashcards
Lorenz (1952) - procedure
divided clutch of goose eggs - one hand hatched with mother goose, other half hatched in incubator where first moving object they saw was Lorenz
Lorenz (1952) - findings
incubator group followed Lorenz
control group followed mother goose
Lorenz (1952) - conclusions
imprinting - bird species attach to and follow the first moving object they see
identified critical period in which this has to occur, otherwise they don’t attach to a mother figure
what did Lorenz find about sexual imprinting?
birds that imprinted on a human would later display courtship behaviour towards humans
strength of Lorenz’s research - research support
A 1995 study exposed chicks to moving shape combinations. The chicks were then shown a range of shape combinations, and they followed the original most closely
Harlow (1958) - procedure
raised 16 baby rhesus monkeys with two surrogate mothers
- one plain-wire
- one cloth-covered
Harlow (1958) - findings
monkeys preferred cloth-covered mother, seeking comfort regardless of which dispensed milk
Harlow (1958) - conclusions
contact comfort more important than food in attachment
identified critical period - mother needed to be introduced within 90 days, otherwise damage from maternal deprivation was irreversible
Harlow (1958) - maternal deprivation
worse for those reared with plain-wire mother
aggressive, less sociable, bred less
when they became mothers, they attacked or neglected their young
strength of Harlow’s research - real-world application
social workers and clinical workers understand risk of lack of bonding experience, and can intervene to prevent poor outcomes
importance of attachment figures in zoos or breeding programmes in the wild
limitation - generalisability
attachment in mammals is more complex than in birds as it is a two-way process
rhesus monkeys more similar to humans that Lorenz’s birds, but human brains and behaviour are still more complex
