Lesson 9 - Harlow (1959)

Question 1

Harlow (1959)

Answer 1

Conducted landmark study on attachment
Called his student report “Origins or Love” and sought to demonstrate that mother love (attachment) was not based on the feeding bond between mother and infant as said by learning theory

Question 2

Harlow (1959) Procedure

Answer 2

Created two wire mothers with different heads
One was wrapped in cloth while the other bare
Eight infant monkeys separated from mother at birth
Placed in cage with both wire mothers
Four monkeys received milk from cloth and others from bare
During the 165 day study, time monkeys spent with each mother was measured
Observations of response to being frightened by mechanical bear also measured
Measured how monkeys coped with exploring a new room full of unfamiliar toys

Question 3

Harlow (1959) Findings

Answer 3

All eight monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth mother regardless to which was feeding
Those monkeys fed by bare mother stayed ling enough to get milk then returned to cloth
When frightened, all monkeys clung to cloth mother and when playing with new objects, monkeys kept on foot on cloth mother
In new environment, monkeys not confident to explore unless cloth mother was in same room

Question 4

Harlow (1959) Long-Term Effects

Answer 4

Continued to study the eight monkeys as they grew up
Monkeys developed abnormally, froze or fled when approached by other monkeys
Did not show normal mating behaviour and did not cradle their own
If monkeys spent time with other monkeys they could recover but only if this was before they were three months old
Having more than three months with only a wire mother was unrecoverable

Question 5

Harlow (1959) Evaluation Points

Answer 5

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
Unethical
Generalisation
Complexity

Question 6

Harlow (1959) Evaluation
Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
Positive

Answer 6

Food is not necessary for attachment to form
Discovered babies are often attached to people who played with them rather than who feed them
In 39% of cases even though mother was the one who fed the baby, the baby was more attached to someone else

Question 7

Harlow (1959) Evaluation
Unethical
Negative

Answer 7

Monkeys removed from their mothers which would have been traumatic then deliberately scared to see how they react
Led to long term emotional harm
When monkeys older and encounter other monkeys, they either froze or fled
Also had difficulty caring for their own young (did not cradle them) as they had not been cared for themselves

Question 8

Harlow (1959) Evaluation
Generalisation
Negative

Answer 8

Problematic to extrapolate findings from this study to attachment in human infants
Humans are physiologically different from monkeys as well as having several other influences monkeys do not have such as culture, society, peers, upbringing, etc
Therefore what applies to a non-human species does not necessarily apply to human infants

Question 9

Harlow (1959) Evaluation
Complexity
Negative

Answer 9

Attachment bond between human infants and attachment figures is far more complex than in monkeys
For instant, there are several different types of attachment styles that human infants can have (secure, avoidant, resistant)