animal studies Flashcards
(6 cards)
Lorenz- imprinting
Lorenz hatched goslings in two groups- one with their mother, one with him.
Goslings imprinted on the first moving figure they saw= irreversible - critical period 32 hrs after birth, affecting later social behaviours.
Harlow- Contact Comfort
Harlow separated baby monkeys from mothers, placing them with two surrogates; one made of wire with food, the other soft but without food.
Monkeys preferred the soft surrogate, spending most time clinging to it= comfort and security are more significant than food
weakness- low ecological validity- Lorenz
findings from birds, such as Lorenz’s research, cannot be fully generalised to mammals. Unlike birds, mammals form attachments at various points in life and show more complex emotional + social behaviours. This limits the applicability of the findings to humans, meaning conclusions drawn from such studies may not reflect real-life attachment processes, reducing generalisability
strength- practical applications- L+H
knowledge gained from the studies= applied to childcare and as a result, immediate physical contact of mum and baby is encouraged. This helps to promote early bonding, which is crucial for healthy emotional and social development
weakness- ethical criticisms- Harlow
Harlow’s study raises major ethical concerns - caused lasting psychological harm to the monkeys. They showed clear signs of distress and long-term social dysfunction (aggression and difficulty forming relationships). Lack of protection from harm makes the study unethical, despite its valuable insights into attachment.
strength- high generalisability
Animal studies provide valuable insights into attachment, as their findings help us understand basic attachment behaviours that are also seen in humans. They allow researchers to study processes like separation, comfort, and bonding in ways that would be impractical in human studies, =useful source of data for understanding early attachment.
