Animal studies of attachment Flashcards
(9 cards)
What does imprinting refer to?
An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time in development.
What does critical period refer to?
The time period which imprinting must occur in to avoid irreversible consequences ( a few hours after birth).
What does sexual imprinting refer to?
Birds show courtship behaviour towards whatever species they imprint on.
Outline Lorenz’s research into attachment using animals? (Procedure)
Lorenz took a clutch of goose eggs. then divided them into two groups. One group were left with their natural mother and the other group was kept in an incubator. When the incubator eggs hatched the first living thing, they saw was Lorenz ( they began to follow him around) To test the effect of imprinting, Lorenz marked the two groups to distinguish them and placed them together.
What were the findings from Lorenz study?
The incubator group followed Lorenz and the other group followed the mother goose. Lorenz’s group showed no recognition of the mother goose. Lorenz noticed that imprinting occurs at an early critical period and if the animal isn’t presented with a moving object during this time then the animal will not imprint.
( Linked to the findings) what did Lorenz state imprinting was?
Irreversible and long lasting. He noticed that imprinting had an effect on later mate preferences and that animals choose to mate with a same kind of object upon which they were imprinted.
Outline Harlow’s research into attachment using animals? (Procedure)
Harlow crested two wire mothers each with a different head. One wire mother additionally was wrapped in soft cloth and the other wire mother had a milk dispenser. 8 Infant Monkeys were studies for 165 days. The time each infant monkey spent with the two different mothers were recorded. Also their responses to other objects were observed.
What were the finding from Harlow’s study?
All 8 monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth covered mother whether or not it has the feeding bottle. The monkeys fed by the wire mother only spent a short time with it to get the milk. When frightened, all monkeys clung on to the cloth covered mothers. This suggests that infants do not develop attachment to the person who feeds them but to the person offering contact comfort.
( Findings) What did Harlow state about the consequences for the monkeys?
He found that the motherless monkeys were socially abnormal and neglected their young as adults. Harlow also found that there were critical periods for these effects. If the motherless monkeys spent time with their monkey peers they seemed to recover only if it was before they were three months old.
