Attachment - Animal Studies* Flashcards
What was the aim of Lorenz’s study?
He wanted to study mother-infant attatchment in birds.
Describe the procedure of Lorenz’s study.
- Randomly divided a clutch of 24 eggs into 2 conditions.
- Placed 12 in an incubator and 12 were given back to the biological mother.
- When the incubator condition hatched, the first moving thing they saw was Lorenz.
Define imprinting.
A rapid learning process in which a new-born animal forms an attraction with its own kind.
How did Lorenz test imprinting?
Mixed the experimental and control groups together. When Lorenz and the biological mother separated, each chick went back to its respective caregiver.
What were Lorenz’s findings?
The experimental group had imprinted on Lorenz and followed him closely.
When is the critical period that Lorenz mentioned?
4-25 hours.
Lorenz suggested that imprinting was reversible. True or false?
False. Imprinting is irreversible and long lasting. It must happen within 4-25 hours.
Some psychologists disagree. Guiton found that sexual imprinting can occur but as chicks spent more time with their own species, this was reversed, suggesting imprinting could be reversible.
Give an advantage of Lorenz’s study.
Advantage:
Supported by Guiton - chicks imprinted on the glove that fed them.
Give a disadvantage to Lorenz’s study.
Disadvantage:
Impinting is reverable - Guiton found that as more social contact with the natural species was achieved, the chicks engaged in normal mating behaviour.
What did Harlow aim to study?
Whether attatchment was based upon the feeding bond between the mother and the infant.
Describe the procedure of Harlow’s study.
- Separated monkeys into two conditions - cloth monkey gave food and wire monkey gave food and vice versa.
What did Harlow find?
Monkeys preferred comfort over nourishment. They only left the cloth mother briefly to get food, before returning.
When the monkeys were frightened, they clung to the cloth mother.
When in a room full of novel toys with the cloth mother, the monkeys explored. When with the mesh mother, they displayed a phobic response.
How did the monkeys develop later in life?
They became more aggressive and less sociable. They neglected and sometimes attacked their young.
When was the critical period proposed by Harlow?
90 days after birth.
Give an advantage to Harlow’s study.
Advantages:
- Practical validity - led to positive changes in zoos and breeding programmes in which the animal’s emotional well being was also being emphasised - to ensure normal development into adulthood.
- High population validity - Monkeys share roughly 90% of their DNA with humans therefore behaviours displayed in monkeys may also be true to humans.
