Animal Studies Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is imprinting?
-An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother
-Takes place during a specific time in development, probably first few hours after birth/hatching
-If it doesn’t happen in this time it probably won’t happen
What was the aim of Lorenz’ study?
To investigate the mechanisms of imprinting where youngsters follow and form an attachment bond to first large moving object they see
What were the procedures of Lorenz’ study?
-Split large clutch of goose eggs into 2 batches - one naturally hatched by mother, other hatched in incubator
-Lorenz made sure he was first moving object to newly hatched gooselings
-He marked all gooselings so he could determine which way they were hatched
-He placed them in an upturned box, which was then removed and the following behaviour was recorded
What were the findings of Lorenz’ study?
-Immediately after birth the naturally hatched gooselings followed mother, incubator hatched followed Lorenz
-When released from box, incubated showed no bond to mother
-These bonds proved to be irreversible
-Lorenz also noted how imprinting would only occur within a brief, set period between 4-25 hrs after hatching
-He reported how gooselings imprinted onto humans as would to birds, and would attempt to mate with humans
What is a strength of Lorenz’ study?
Research support for imprinting: Guiton’s chickens:
-Demonstrated that chickens, exposed to yellow rubber gloves for feeding during first few weeks, became imprinted on the gloves
-Supports view that young animals are not born with a predisposition to imprint on a specific type of object, but probably first moving thing present during this critical window of development
Guiton also found male chickens later tried to mate with gloves, showing early imprinting is linked to later reproductive behaviour
What is a limitation of Lorenz’ study?
Imprinting can be reversed:
-Guiton’s later research challenged notion of imprinting
-Imprinting thought to leave an irreversible stamp
-He found he could reverse imprinting in chickens who had initially tried to mate with rubber glove
-Later found after spending time with own species they were able to engage in normal sexual behaviour
This would seem to suggest that we learn attachments over time and that they aren’t formed immediately after birth as Lorenz believed
What were the aims was Harlow’s study?
Aimed to investigate learning theory by comparing attachment behaviour in baby monkeys
What were the procedures of Harlow’s study?
-Separated baby monkeys from mothers at birth and raised them in cages in isolation until 8months
-2 types of surrogate mothers constructed - ‘wire mother’ and ‘cloth mother’
-16 babies used in 4 conditions:
1. Cage with wiring mother producing milk and a cloth mother with no milk
2. Cage with wire mother producing no milk and cloth mother producing milk
3. Cage with wire mother producing milk
4. Cage with cloth mother producing milk
-Amount of time spent with each mother as well as feeding time was measured
-Monkeys were frightened with a loud noise to test for mother preference during stress
-Larger cage was used to test monkeys’ degree of exploration
What were the findings of Harlow’s study?
-Monkeys spent 18hrs a day cuddling against cloth mother compared to under 2hrs with wire
-Preferred contact with cloth mother when given choice of mothers, regardless whether it produced milk
-They stretched to cloth mother when feeding off wire mother
-Ones with only wire mother suffered diarrhoea - stress
-When frightened by noise, monkeys clung to cloth mother
-In larger cage, monkeys with cloth mother explored more and visited mother more often
What conclusions were made with Harlow’s study?
-Rhesus monkeys have an innate, unlearned need for contact comfort, suggesting attachment concerns emotional security more than food
-Contact comfort is associated with lower levels of stress and a willingness to explore, indicating emotional security
What is a strength of Harlow’s study?
Practical value:
-Insight into attachment has important applications
e.g. it has helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect
We now understand importance of proper attachment figures
What is a limitation of Harlow’s study?
Ethical issues:
-Could not be conducted using human participants due to countless ethical problems associated with them
-Although did not use humans, still has received severe criticism
-Monkeys suffered long-lasting emotional harm as found it difficult to form relationships with peers
-Harlow was aware of suffering he caused - he referred to wire mothers as ‘iron maidens’ after a medieval torturing torture device
Main decision an ethical board must make is whether benefits outweigh costs of research. The counter-argument is that Harlow’s research was sufficiently important to justify effects
