Attachment - Animal studies Flashcards
Explain the procedure of Lorenz’s study
Set up a classic experiment in which he randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs. Half were replaced under their mother and allowed to hatch naturally & half were kept in an incubator where he ensured he was the first thing they saw once hatched
Explain the findings of Lorenz’s study
The incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere whereas the control group followed their mother, even when mixed up they follow their attachment figures
What’s the conclusion of Lorenz’s study
Imprinting is the tendency to form an attachment to the first large moving object seen after birth.
Strongest tendency to imprint is between 13-16 hours after birds hatch. 32h is when the tendency passes
Explain the procedure of Harlow’s study
Observed that new born rhesus monkeys kept alone in a cafe died but if they had a cloth to cuddle they survived.
He reared 16 monkey’s with two ‘wire mothers’ In one condition the mother gave milk and in the other a cloth covered the wire for comfort
Explain the findings of Harlow’s study
The monkeys would seek comfort and prefer to cuddle the cloth monkey. When frightened the monkeys ran to the cloth mother, which shows that contact comfort was more important to them than food
Maternal deprivation led to abnormal behaviour in monkey adulthood
What’s the critical period in Harlow’s study
A mother figure had to be introduced to the infant within 90 days for an attachment to form
Evaluate animal studies
✅ Harlows monkeys may be a good model for human’s as they are a close relative and therefore have much closer patterns than other animals. Harlow is supported by Schaffer & Emerson’s findings that infants are not most attracted to who feeds them
✅ Glutch demonstrated that leghorn chicks exposed to yellow rubber gloves whilst being fed during the first few weeks imprinted on them
❌ Ethical issues - Harlow’s monkeys suffered as they were taken away from their mothers & were subject to stressful experiences. Harlow claimed they suffered permanent damage and were unable to function naturally
