Key Study Harlow 1959

Question 1

AO1 of Harlow study

Answer 1

One animal study of attachment is Harlow 1959 where he studied the behaviour of monkey towards two types of mothers. In the study there was 8 monkeys who were there for 165 days . 4 of the monkeys were fed by the wire mother whilst the other 4 were fed by the cloth mother . The monkeys fed by the wire mother spent less time with their mother and more time with the cloth mother . When the monkeys were put in a frightening situation the monkeys found comfort and reassurance in the cloth mother rather than wire mother that feed them . Furthermore,when placed in a new situation such as a room with random objects alone they were cautious but with the cloth mother they received comfort which allowed them to explore the situation freely. Harlow found that the critical period in monkeys is 3 months however from staying the cages for 165 days the monkeys developed abnormally such as they fled and froze when their ‘peers’ were around and they were sexually abnormal . This shows that they didn’t development a bond or attachment to who fed them but rather the mother that gave them comfort-care.

Question 2

why cant harlow study be generalised to human attachment seen as a weakness

Answer 2

P:one weakness of Harlow animal study is that it can’t be used to consider human attachment
E:evidence for this is that humans have a conscious and free will to make decisions
E:this shows it lacks it can’t be generalised to the wider population and therefore lacks representation