Attachment - Animal Studies and Behaviourism

Question 2

What are the 2 animals studies of attachment?

Answer 2

Lorenz - used geese

Harlow - used monkeys

Question 3

What is imprinting?

Answer 3

an innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother

this takes place during the critical period

Question 4

What was the procedure of Lorenz’s animal experiment?

Answer 4

IV(1) - chick raised by mother

IV(2) - chick raised by Lorenz

DV - when given the choice, do the chicks follow their birth mother or Lorenz

Question 5

What were the results of Lorenz’s animal experiment?

Answer 5

the chicks always followed the adult that they were raised by - the effect seemed permanent

the chicks also sexually imprinted with each ‘parent’ - Lorenz’s group tried to mate with his boots whereas the mother’s group tried to mate normally with other geese

Question 6

What was the conclusion from Lorenz’s animal experiment?

Answer 6

the critical period is just after birth, and infants imprint on the first adult they come into contact with

Question 7

What was the procedure of Harlow’s animal experiment?

Answer 7

IV(1) - food provided by wire mother

IV(2) - food provided by cloth mother

IV(3) - interacting with new toys / scary robot

DV(1,2) - time spent with each mother

DV(3) - secure base behaviour and choice of mother for comfort

Question 8

What were the results from Harlow’s experiment?

Answer 8

all monkeys spent more time with cloth mother, regardless of which one had the food

all monkeys used cloth mother for comfort and explored new toys more willingly with cloth mother in the room

when older, monkeys who missed critical period developed abnormally (bad parents, lack of social skills etc)

Question 9

What were the conclusions drawn from Harlow’s experiment?

Answer 9

infants seek comfort over food

there’s a critical period for attachment and if missed, results in abnormal development

recovery only possible if real mother attached in first 3 months

Question 10

What are the strengths from Lorenz’s study?

Answer 10

lab study - controlled environment, high internal validity

Question 11

What are some weaknesses from Lorenz’s study?

Answer 11

sample bias - geese not similar to humans, can’t generalise

determinist - assumes everyone attaches the same way

unethical - the geese couldn’t consent to being permanently damaged by the experiment

Question 12

What are the strengths from Harlow’s experiment?

Answer 12

real life applications - helped social workers in neglect / abuse cases, ecological validity

better than Lorenz - monkeys more similar to humans than geese

Question 13

What are the weaknesses from Harlow’s study?

Answer 13

lack of mundane realism - neither mother looked like a monkey

unethical - permanent harm done to some monkeys that couldn’t consent

can’t generalise - monkeys different from humans

Question 14

What is learning theory?

Answer 14

the theory that infants learn to attach to caregivers through classical and operant conditioning

Question 15

What are the steps for classical conditioning in attachment?

Answer 15

Step 1: Food (UCS) -> baby feels pleasure (UCR)

Mother (NS) -> no response (NR)

Step 2: Mother + Food -> baby feels pleasure

Step 3: Mother (CS) -> baby feels pleasure (CR)

Question 16

How would a baby attach to a mother through positive reinforcement?

Answer 16

Baby cries

Baby receives reward (food relieves hunger)

Gaining food negatively reinforces the action so the baby repeats it

Question 17

How would a mother attach to a baby through positive reinforcement?

Answer 17

Baby cries, mother performs action (feeding/cuddling)

Mother receives reward (baby stops crying)

removal of distress reinforces the action so the mother learns to repeat it

Question 18

How can SLT be used to explain attachment?

Answer 18

observing role models being rewarded for caring behaviours results in imitation which results in positive / negative reinforcement through operant conditioning