Harlow (1958) Flashcards
What year did harrows experiment take place?
1958
What was Harlows original experiment?
Harlow gave orphan, infant monkeys the choice between a cloth mother and a wire mother. Half of the monkeys were fed from the cloth mother and the other half were fed from the wire mother.
What were the results of Harlows original experiment?
The infant monkeys clung to the cloth mother for longer - even if the cloth mother did not provide them with milk. This indicated that the infant monkeys had a preference of comfort over food.
What was Harlows question after the original experiment?
Would the infant monkeys still seek the inanimate mother for comfort and security when they were subjected to emotional stress?
What was Harlows second experiment?
Strange objects - Harlow presented the monkeys with fearful stimuli to see whether the mother was a haven of safety in times of fear and danger. The monkeys showed a strong preference for the cloth mother.
What was Harlows third experiment?
Strange environment - monkeys were placed in an “open field” test twice a week for 8 weeks. They were put in a new room with interesting objects and Harlow alternated the presence of cloth/ no cloth mother.
What happened in the strange environment test?
If the mother was present the infants would rush to her, clutch her and rub themselves against here.
After a few sessions the monkeys began to use the surrogate mother as a base of operations and source of security.
If the mother was absent they frequently froze in crouched position and did a lot more crying,rocking and sucking.
What conclusions did Harlow come to?
Contact comfort is important for development of attachment In monkeys.
Comfort is more important that food in creating a bond.
Contradicted behaviourist theories of reinforcement.
What were criticisms of Harlow?
Can we generalise findings in monkeys to humans?
Is it ethical to conduct these experiments on infant monkeys?
What applications and impact did Harlows experiment have?
Fathers are capable of participating equally in child rearing
Adoptive parents can offer just as much as biological parents
Changes to treatment of children in institutions (orphanages/ hospitals)
