Animal studies of attachment

Question 1

Describe the procedure Lorenz used to study attachment in geese?

Answer 1

Studied imprinting: birds follow the first moving object they see within a critical period

1. He randomly divided the goose eggs
2. Half the eggs hatched in a natural environment with goose mother being the first moving thing they saw
3. The other half hatched in an incubator with Lorenz being the first moving object they saw

Question 2

What were the results of Lorenz’s study?

Answer 2

-Control group were imprinted to goose mother and followed her everywhere
-Experimental group imprinted to Lorenz and followed him everywhere
-Mixed up the groups and they continued to follow the thing they had imprinted to

Critical period for geese identified as 12-17 hours, if imprinting does not occur in this period, geese will not attach to the mother figure at all

Question 3

What is sexual imprinting?

Answer 3

He found that birds which imprinted on humans would display courtship towards humans

Question 4

Describe the procedure Harlow used to study attachment in monkeys

Answer 4

1. Tested to see if baby rhesus monkeys preferred soft, cloth mother or wire mother (milk)
2. 16 baby monkeys left separately with each mother to see which they prefer
3. Measured how long they spent with each mother
4. Also tested which mother they would run to when frightened

Question 5

What were the results of Harlow’s study?

Answer 5

-All spent most time with soft, cloth mother and only went to wire mother for food
-Shows emotional needs are more important than food in attachment formation
-Monkeys returned to cloth mother when frightened supports the idea that they use attachment figure as a secure base
-All monkeys without real mother had permanent effects of maternal deprivation as they became more aggressive and less sociable
-There is a 90 day critical period

Question 6

What is the cost-benefit analysis of this study?

Answer 6

Does the knowledge gained about importance of attachment outweigh cost to monkeys?

Question 7

What is the practical value of Harlow’s research?

Answer 7

-Helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand the effects a lack of bonding experience may have on children later on in life
-They are now more aware of this risk factor and are more likely to intervene to prevent poor outcomes

Question 8

How does Harlow’s research generalise to human infants?

Answer 8

-Rhesus monkeys are more similar to humans than most other animals and share attachment behaviours such as internal working model and secure base

Question 9

How does Harlow’s research not generalise to human infants?

Answer 9

-Human brain and behaviour is much more complex than that of monkeys, some aspects of attachment are different
-Concept of critical period may be different in humans, some children do recover so there it is more of a sensitive period