Animal Studies

Question 1

animal studies evaluation

Answer 1

gloves and shapes extrapolated to unethical monkeys and babies

Question 2

imprinting

Answer 2

forming an attachment and relationship with the first thing seen upon birth/hatching

Question 3

Lorenz aim

Answer 3

investigating imprinting behaviours in greylag goslings

Question 4

what did Lorenz say about imprinting behaviours?

Answer 4

they are genetically determined and species-specific

Question 5

who did the goslings go to when box was removed in Lorenz’ study

Answer 5

their respective ‘mothers’, whom they had first imprinted on after hatching

Question 6

critical period defined by Lorenz

Answer 6

12-17 hours

Question 7

what did Lorenz conclude about imprinting(4 things)?

Answer 7

1. imprinting occurs within a brief critical period
2. once it has occurred it is irreversible
3. if it doesn’t occur within 24h of hatching, goslings won’t be able to attach to mother
4. imprinting directly linked to sexual behaviour –> animals mate with the object they imprinted upon (sexual imprinting)

Question 8

why is it difficult to extrapolate Lorenz’ findings to human babies?

Answer 8

geese are more mobile and feed themselves from birth, while humans have longer period of dependence and form more complex attachments, so imprinting/ 24h critical period isn’t applicable to other species

Question 9

Regolin (1995)

Answer 9

exposed chicks to simple shapes
imprinted on them immediately after hatching
imprinting = innate mechanism

Question 10

Harlow aim

Answer 10

investigate whether attachment due to food or contact comfort

Question 11

Harlow conclusions

Answer 11

Contact comfort more important in forming attachments than food

Question 12

how many monkeys did Harlow study and for how long?

Answer 12

16 monkeys, for 165 days

Question 13

which ‘monkey’ had the food

Answer 13

the wire monkey

Question 14

which ‘mother’ did the monkeys prefer? How did Harlow conclude this?

Answer 14

the cloth monkey, spending most of their time with it, despite wire monkey providing food

Question 15

what happened when Harlow scared the monkeys with a mechanical figure?

Answer 15

they fled to the cloth mother for comfort

Question 16

what did Harlow observe in the Monkeys as they grew up?

Answer 16

they all developed abnormally –> abnormal sexual and social interactions, couldn’t cradle own offspring

Question 17

What did Harlow find about the critical period?

Answer 17

if the monkeys spent time with their peers before 3mo, they seemed to recover, but if more than 6mo with surrogate ‘mother, a permanent change was created

Question 18

how do S&E’s findings support Harlow’s findings?

Answer 18

they found that babies didn’t necessarily form primary attachments with the caregiver that fed them and instead it was formed with the one most responsive

Question 19

what was the potential CV in Harlow’s study?

Answer 19

they different ‘mothers’ had different faces. uncertain whether attachment because of comfort or because it looked more like a monkey –> challenges internal validity