animal attachments

Question 1

lorenz

Answer 1

procedure - goslings saw lorenz when they hatched

findings - newly-hatched chicks attach to the first moving object they see (imprinting)

sexual imprinting - adult birds try to mate with whatever species or object they imprint on

Question 2

harlow

Answer 2

procedure - baby monkeys given cloth-covered or plan-wire ‘mother’ with feeding bottle attached

findings - monkeys clung to cloth surrogate rather than wire one, regardless of which dispensed milk

maternally deprived monkeys as adults - grew up socially dysfunctional

the critical period for normal development - after 90 days attachments wouldn’t form

Question 3

animal - generalisability

Answer 3

often questioned due to its low population validity. Both Lorenz and Harlow’s study did not use human infants and so would have a problem with relating it to human subjects. For example, human babies don’t follow the first neutral object or person they see within a few hours of their birth. Humans have more complex brain structure to monkeys. Therefore, it is unlikely that observations of goslings following a researcher or rhesus monkeys clinging to cloth-covered wire models reflects the emotional connections and interaction that characterises human attachments.

Question 4

animal - reliability

Answer 4

there are a number of other studies that have demonstrated imprinting in animals. For example, Regolin and Vallortigara’s research demonstrated that chicks that were exposed to simple shape combinations that moved, such as a triangle with a rectangle in the front, became imprinted onto the shapes. This was shown by the chicks having a range of shape combinations moved in front of them and the chicks following the original shape combination most closely. This supports the view that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object present in the critical window of development, as predicted by Lorenz, therefore providing clear support for Lorenz’s original research and conclusions

Question 5

animal - validity

Answer 5

high internal validity – Harlow – study carried out in a controlled setting – allows for any extraneous variables to be controlled – results are more reliability – controlled extraneous variables by each monkey being scared by the exact same wind up toy – had the same stimulus – conclusions are genuine

Question 6

animal - ethics

Answer 6

psychological harm caused to monkeys – frightened and suffered harm due to maternal deprivation – affected monkeys later in life – less sociable and killing offspring -