Animal Studies

Question 1

What was the key study conducted by Lorenz in 1952?

Answer 1

Study on imprinting in goslings using 12 goose eggs

Lorenz found that goslings followed the first moving object they saw within 12-18 hours after hatching.

Question 2

What phenomenon is described by the term ‘imprinting’?

Answer 2

A rapid attachment process occurring within a critical period after birth

Imprinting affects later mating preferences and is permanent.

Question 3

What did Harlow’s 1958 study with Rhesus monkeys reveal about attachment?

Answer 3

Infants preferred cloth-covered mother over a wire mother, indicating ‘contact comfort’ is crucial

Monkeys spent about 20 hours per day clinging to the cloth mother.

Question 4

What was the critical period identified in Harlow’s studies on monkeys?

Answer 4

90 days

Missing this critical period resulted in long-term social issues.

Question 5

What was a significant conclusion from Lorenz’s study?

Answer 5

Imprinting occurs in a critical period, with no attachment formed outside that time

This suggests that early experiences significantly affect later behaviors.

Question 6

True or False: Harlow found that food was more important than comfort in attachment.

Answer 6

False

Harlow’s findings indicated that ‘contact comfort’ was more important than food.

Question 7

What are some variations of Harlow’s study?

Answer 7

Raising monkeys in isolation or with only cloth or wire mothers

Long-term follow-ups showed significant effects on later interactions.

Question 8

What ethical issues were raised by Harlow’s research?

Answer 8

Suffering of infant monkeys due to their human-like characteristics

Ethical concerns are weighed against the benefits of the research.

Question 9

What is a limitation of generalizing animal studies to humans?

Answer 9

Differences in attachment systems between species

Human communication and language may significantly influence attachment.

Question 10

What evidence supports the concept of imprinting in birds?

Answer 10

Chicks imprinted on washing-up gloves as the first large moving object

This supports the idea that imprinting can occur with various stimuli.

Question 11

What did Guiton et al. find regarding Lorenz’s conclusions about sexual imprinting?

Answer 11

Preferences were not permanent and changed when shown chickens

This challenges the idea that sexual imprinting is irreversible.

Question 12

What internal validity issue was present in Harlow’s early experiments?

Answer 12

Different faces of model mothers were used

This could have introduced confounding variables affecting the results.