Lassi & Tucci 2017 Flashcards
aim
measuring the extent to which mouse’s attachement styles reflect the maternal behaviours of their biological mothers, as compared to their foster mothers
subjects
a total of 140 mice
64 raised by foster mothers 76 raised by biological mothers
litters (each containing 6-10 mice pups)
4 litters good bio mom 4 litters evil bio mom
4 foster mom
participants
the mice were subjected to a modified, altered version of the study “Strange Situation” (SS) (human study adapted to mice)
which tested them for
- separation anxiety
- stranger anxiety
- exploratory behaviour
- reunion behaviour
(mother leaving the pups alone // with a stranger)
results
the pups who were raised by their biological mothers showed a much more stable and secure attachment style (mother»_space; stranger)
as compared to pups who were raised by foster parents, some of which had a less secure attachment style (they showed little interest to their biological mothers)
pups raised by foster parents reflected the attachment styles of their biological parents
conclusion
genes interact with the environment while shaping animal’s behaviour (in particular, attachmemt styles)
strengths
- good applications to parenting (useful to humans, nurturing and parenting shows that
positive nurturing = secure attachment style
HIGH CONCURRENT VALIDITY (in line with previous reaserch)
weaknesses
we can only infer the mice’s behaviour, cannot be certain, it is open to interpretation and rather subjective
ARTIFICIAL PROCEDURE - - - LOW ECO VALIDITY
