attachment - animals Flashcards
who studied monkeys ?
harlow
who studied geese ?
lorenz
what was lorenz’s aim
to see if goslings could imprint on him
what was lorenzs procedure
lorenz took half of a mothers geese and put them in an incubator with him he then spent days imitating quack noises to form an attachment, after a couple of days he put all the geese together (including other half of mothers ) to see who they would run to , half ran to him , half to mother.
evaluate lorenz
- cross specie validity - humans and birds have different attachment styles. humans = more emotional and obviously of different specie so it seems unwise to suggest what can be claimed about birds can be the same for humans
- inaccuracies in his conclusions, research has found that imprinting can have only temporary effects, guiton found that chickens can imprint on yellow gloves but over time can be changed. suggesting imprinting is not as significant as lorenz claims
- research support for imprinting period - hess found that it occurs within 12-27 hours
-unethical
what was harlows aim ?
study relationships between monkeys and their mothers
what was Harlow’s 1st experiment?
1958 8 monkeys were separated from mothers from birth and 4 were given a wire mother who provided milk and a cloth mother 4 were given a cloth mother who did provide milk and a wire mother they were studied for 165 days. monkeys spent most of their time with cloth mother and took refuge with her when they felt threatened even if it didnt provide milk. Suggesting it became their safe base.
evaluate harlow
- unethical
- some people think the valuable insights justify the ethics because it influenced the works of john Bowlby most important person in attachment theory.
- practical applications = importance of contact comfort for development over food shows importance of quality early relationships. howe - helped social workers know risk factors for abuse
- cross - species validity
What did harlow find on maternally deprived monkeys as adults
maternal deprivation had permanent effects - more aggressive and unsociable than other monkeys. female monkeys didnt seem to want to mate but those As mothers neglected and even killed their children. length of privation effected - those who were isolated longer = worse
what is the critical period for harlow
within 90 days there needs to be a formed attachment otherwise it is impossible, and the damage of deprivation will be irreversible.
critical period for Lorenz
he believed for birds there is a critical period in which they need to build an attachment or imprint. depending on the specie this can be within hours. If it does not occur, it will have dire effects.
harlows 2nd experiemnt
he took infants and isolated from birth for varied months up to a year and then returned them to socialise with other monkeys.
he left them in ‘ vertical chamber apparatus’ which he named the pit od dispair
