psychology animal studies of attachment Flashcards
what was lorenzs research on imprinting
classic researcher-randomly divided large clutch of goose eggs, half eggs hatched with mother goose in their natural environment, other half hatched in incubator where first moving object they saw was lorenz
incubator followed lorenz everywhere but control group followed mother even when mixed up
imprinting-bird species that are mobile from birth attach to and follow the first moving object they see
critical period-as brief as a few hours after hatching and if it doesnt occur within that time lorenz found that chicks dont attach themselves to mother figures
what was lorenzs research on sexual imprinting
birds that imprinted on human would later display courtship behaviour towards humans
described peacock that had been reared in reptile house of a zoo where first moving objects saw after hatching were giant tortoises, as adult the bird would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises, concluded that this meant the peacock had undergone sexual imprinting
what was harlows research on the importance of contact comfort
tested idea that soft object serves some of functions of a mother, reared 16monkeys with two wire model mothers, one condition milk was dispensed by plain wire mother and 2nd condition-milk dispensed by cloth covered mother, baby monkeys cuddled cloth covered mother and sought comfort from cloth when frightened, contact comfort was of more importance to monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour
what was harlows research on maternally deprived monkeys as adults
monkeys who deprived on real mother into adulthood to see if early maternal deprivation had permanent effect, monkeys reared with plain wire mothers most dysfunctional, even those reared with cloth covered mother didnt develop normal social behaviour, deprived monkeys were more aggressive less sociable than other monkeys bred less often than is typical neglected their young and others attacked their children
when did harlow say was the critical period in his research
mother figure had to be introduced to young monkey within 90days for attachment to form after this time the attachment was impossible and damage dome by early deprivation became irreversible
what is the research support for lorenzs research evaluation point
existence support for concept of imprinting
regolin and vallortigara supports-chicks were exposed to simple shape combos that moved, range of shape combos then moved in front of them and followed original most closley, supports view that young animals born with innate mechanism to imprint on moving object present in critical window of development
what is the generalisability to humans for lorenzs research evaluation point
ability to generalise findings and conclusions from birds to humans
mammalian attachment system is different and more complex than birds, mammals attachment two way process and mammalian mothers show emotional attachment to young
not appropriate to generalise lorenzs ideas to humans
what is the real world value for harlows research evaluation point
important real world applications
helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand that a lack of bonding experience may be risk factor in child development allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes
understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes in the wild
value of the research isnt just theoretical but also practical
what is the generalisability to huamsn for harlows research eveluation point
ability to generalise findings and conclusions from monkeys to humans
rhesus monkeys more similar to huamsn than lorenzs birds and all mammals share some common attachment behaviours
human brain and human behaviour more complex than that of monkeys
not appropriate to generalise harlows findings to humans
