Animal Studies Of Attachment Flashcards
(13 cards)
Outline the procedure of Lorenzes study
Lab experiment
Randomly divided clutch of gosling eggs into 2 groups (independent groups)
Control group - half eggs left w mother in natural environment
Experimental group - half eggs in incubator and when hatched first moving object they saw was Lorenz
To test effects of imprinting, Lorenz marked 2 groups to distinguish them and placed them together w both Lorenz and mother present
DV - saw who the goslings followed
To test long term effects, Lorenz followed geese into adulthood to see if maternal deprivation had a permanent effect
Outline what Lorenz found about imprinting, the long term effects of imprinting and the critical period
Experimental group who saw Lorenz, followed him closely and appeared to have formed a rapid attachment w him (as if he were their mother)
Control group followed biological mother
When all goslings were put together, Lorenz found groups separated to got to their respective ‘mothers’ half to goose and half to Lorenz)
Lorenz found the process of imprinting is irreversible and long lasting
Also, found early imprinting had effect on later mate preferences (sexual imprinting)
Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needed to have taken place
If imprinting didn’t occur within this time, Lorenz found chicks did not attach to a mother figure
What did Lorenz conclude?
Lorenzes research highlighted importance of imprinting in animals and the evolutionary advantage of forming an attachment
Young animal that follows its mothers is more likely to be safe from predators, to be fed and learn how to find food which increases their chance of survival and natural selection
Evaluate Lorenzes research using research support for critical period and imprinting
Number of studies have demonstrated imprinting in animals / support Lorenzes research
Eg Guiton (1966) exposed leghorn chicks to yellow rubber gloves whilst feeding them during their 1st few after birth
Found chicks became imprinted on the glove
Supports view that young animals are not born w a predisposition to imprint on a specific object but on any moving object that is present during the critical window of development
Suggests there’s a window of opportunity / critical period in which attachments must be formed otherwise this may lead to negative consequences
Also found to be true in humans w Bowlby theory of maternal deprivation
What was the aim of Harlows research?
He set out to demonstrate that attachment was not based on the feeding bond between mother and infant as the learning theory suggests
Outline the procedure of Harlows study
Lab experiment w baby monkeys
Split monkeys into 2 groups (independent groups)
Condition 1 - cloth mother provided milk and wire monkey didn’t (4 monkeys)
Condition 2 - wire monkey provided milk and cloth monkey didn’t (4 monkeys)
Studied for 165 days and measured amount of time spent w 2 different mothers
Also, observed monkey infants responses when frightened by a mechanical teddy
Also, Harlow followed monkeys into adulthood and measured long term effects on sociability and relationship w offspring
What did Harlow find?
Baby monkeys spent most time w cloth covered mother whether or not this mother had feeding bottle
Monkeys who fed from wire mother only spent short amount of time getting milk and then returned to cloth mother
When frightened, all monkeys clung to cloth covered monkey and when playing w new object, monkeys often kept one foot on cloth covered monkey for reassurance
What did Harlow find about the long term effects of monkeys being separated from their mothers
Found motherless monkeys developed abnormally into adulthood
More aggressive and less sociable and bred less often than is typical for monkeys
As mothers some of deprived monkeys neglected their young and others attacked or killed their children
What did Harlow find about the critical period?
Found mother figure had to be introduced to an infant monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form
After this time, attachment was imposssible and damage done by early deprivation became irreversible
What did Harlow conclude?
Harlow showed attachment does not develop as a result of being fed by a mother but as a result of contact comfort
Also showed importance of quality of early relationships for later social development (adult relationships and rearing children)
Evaluate Harlows research using practical application
Strength of Harlows research is went against dominant belief that attachment was related to physical care / food and instead showed importance of emotional care
Further supported in human studies eg Schaffer and Emerson found mothers responsiveness mattered most in formation of attachments between caregivers and infants
Led to practical applications for both humans and animals
Eg helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse, so can intervene and prevent it (Howe, 1988)
Also important for care of captive monkeys as now understand importance of adequate attachment figures for babies in zoos and breeding programmes in wild
Harlows research used in number of contexts and has practical value
Evaluate animal studies using problems with extrapolation
Although animal studies have influenced research into human attachment (Bowlby critical period idea) and have influenced our understanding of human development, problem of extrapolating (generalising) findings from animals to humans
Human attachment behaviour is very different to other animals as our behaviour is controlled more by conscious decisions
Eg Mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to young than birds do
Means may not be appropriate to generalise animal studies to explain human attachment
Evaluate animal studies using ethical issues
Both Lorenz and Harlows research created stress to young animals after being separated from their mothers and caused long term emotional harm (animals found forming relationships difficult in adulthood)
However, can be justified as had significant effect on our understanding of the process of human attachment at that time
Therefore can argue benefits outweigh costs to animals
