Evaluating Animal Studies Of Attachment

Question 1

Research support for imprinting: Guiton (1966)-

Answer 1

demonstrated that leghorn chicks exposed to moving yellow rubber gloves irony their first few weeks became imprinted in the gloves

Question 2

Criticisms of imprinting:

Hoffman (1996)

Answer 2

argues that imprinting is a more plastic mechanism because Hoffman found that when the chicks later spent significant time with their own species they engaged in normal sexual behaviour thus implying that imprinting is much like learning and is fairly reversible

Question 3

Confounding variable in Harlow’s study:

Answer 3

the mothers had 2 different heads; with the cloth covered mother resembling a monkey more