2. Animal Studies of Attachment Flashcards
(21 cards)
What did Konrad Lorenz (1935) do
Studied IMPRNTING in geese.
What did Konrad Lorenz (1935) believe
Found that geese automatically ‘attach’ to the first moving object they see after hatching, & follows it everywhere - This is called IMPRINTING
Method of Konrad Lorenz (1935)
- He randomly divided a clutch of greylag goose eggs into 2 groups.
- He left one group w the mother & incubated the other eggs.
Results of Konrad Lorenz (1935)
- Lorenz observed that the goslings from the incubator eggs followed him around in exactly the same way that the goslings from the other eggs would follow their mother.
- He put both sets of goslings tg & observed that when they were released, the 2 groups quickly re-formed as the goslings went off in search of their respective ‘mothers’. Both sets of goslings had imprinted on the 1st moving object they had seen.
What did Konrad Lorenz (1935) go on to also find
- After further experiments, Lorenz determined that imprinting was most likely between 13-16hrs after hatching.
- As such, concluded that imprinting seems to occur during a ‘critical period’. It’s a fast, automatic process.
- He ALSO noted that after the critical period, it was too late for the young birds ever to imprint.
- It’s unlikely to occur in humans. Our attachments take longer to develop & we dont automatically attach to particular things - quality care seems more important in humans attachment formation.
What did Harlow (1959) believe
Good quality interaction w the baby is more important - the baby will attach to whoever is the most sensitive & loving.
What did Harlow (1959) do
Studied the need for ‘contact comfort’
Aim of Harlow (1959)
- Harlow aimed to find out whether baby monkeys would prefer a source of food or a source of comfort & protection as an attachment figure.
Method of Harlow (1959)
- In laboratory experiments rhesus monkeys were raised in isolation.
- They had 2 ‘surrogate’ mothers: one made of wire mesh & contained a feeding bottle, the other was made of cloth but didn’t contain a feeding bottle.
Results of Harlow (1959)
- The monkeys spent most of their time clinging to the cloth surrogate & only used the wire surrogate to feed.
- The cloth surrogate seemed to give them comfort in new situations.
- When the monkeys grew up they showed signs of social & emotional disturbance.
- The females were bad mothers who were often violent towards their offspring.
Conclusion of Harlow (1959)
- Infant monkeys formed more of an attachment w a figure that provided comfort & protection.
- Growing up in isolation affected their development.
Evaluation of Harlow (1959): PROS
- Laboratory experiment - strict control of the variables. This means that it’s unlikely the results were affected by an unknown variable.
- Also means its replicable - HOWEVER ethical guidelines now in place mean that you couldn’t repeat this study today to see whether you’ll get same results.
Evaluation of Harlow (1959): CONS
- Its argued that you cant generalise the results to human beings - bc humans & monkeys are qualitatively different.
- Ethical issues - monkeys were put in a stressful situation, later showing signs of being psychologically damaged by the experiment. (ethics of animal testing?)
- Monkeys are social animals, so it was unfair to keep them in isolation.
- The fact that they were in isolation also means the study lacked ecological validity - monkeys weren’t in their natural env, so results cannot be reliably applied to real life.
Harlow continued his research with monkeys…
Harlow’s (1959) study concluded that rhesus monkeys developed stronger attachments w a cloth surrogate than a wire surrogate.
He carried out further studies w diff conditions.
Harlow’s further research (1)
- Harlow & Zimmerman (1959) added in a fearful stimulus.
- When a fearful object (sa an oversized toy) was placed in the cage, the monkey would cling to the cloth surrogate first before exploring the object.
- Monkeys in cages w only a wire surrogate would remain FROZEN or run wildly around the cage.
Conclusion of Harlow’s further research (1)
Harlow & Zimmerman (1959) concluded that a strong attachment w a primary caregiver is therefore highly important in the development of an infant.
Harlow’s further research (2)
- Harlow & Sumoi (1970) investigated other factors in generating a strong attachment.
- When they placed a cloth surrogate with food & a cloth surrogate without food in the cage, they found that the one with food was preferred.
Conclusion of Harlow’s further research (2)
Harlow & Sumoi (1970) concluded that food may still be a significant factor in developing attachments.
Animals in psychological research
- When animals are used in psychological research, findings of the studies should be interpreted carefully. It is hard to generalise the findings from one species to another bc behaviour of an animal can often be very diff to that of a human.
- LORENZ used precocial species - species that have their eyes open & can walk right from birth. So theyre very different from human infants, who cannot walk until later.
- Although the results of animal studies might not always be generalisable to human population, they can often influence policies & theories in diff areas of research.
ADVANTAGES of animal studies
- Some research designs couldn’t have been conducted on humans ethically - eg Harlow’s study of attachment, where young monkeys were separated from their mothers.
DISADVANTAGES of animal studies
- Animal studies have provided valuable information for developmental research BUT theres debate abt the ethics behind it
- Some see it as unethical to inflict suffering on animals, especially when they cant give consent.
