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What was the main aim of Konrad Lorenz’s study and when was it?
To investigate the mechanisms of imprinting where the youngsters follow and form an attachment to the first large, moving object that they meet.
1935
Describe the procedure of Lorenz's study on imprinting?
Lorenz split a large clutch of goose eggs into two batches. One batch hatched naturally with the mother; the other batch hatched in an incubator with Lorenz making sure that he was the first moving object the goslings encountered.
The gosling’s behaviour was recorded.
Lorenz marked the goslings so that he knew whether they had hatched naturally or whether they had hatched in the incubator.
He placed all the goslings under and upturned the box. The box was then removed, and the gosling’s behaviour was recorded.
Describe the findings of Lorenz's study on imprinting?
After birth, the naturally hatched baby goslings followed their mother about whilst the incubator hatched goslings followed Lorenz around.
When released from the upturned box, the naturally hatched goslings went straight to their mother whereas the incubator hatched goslings went straight to Lorenz (showing no bond to their natural mother).
These bonds proved to be irreversible (the naturally hatched goslings would only follow their mother; the incubator hatched goslings would only follow Lorenz).
Lorenz noticed how the process of imprinting occurred only a short period of time after birth (between 4 and 25 hours).
How did Lorenz demonstrate the concept of critical periods in attachment development?
Lorenz observed that imprinting occurred only during a specific, limited timeframe shortly after hatching (a few hours to a day, depending on the species).
If the goslings were not exposed to a moving object (mother or surrogate) during this period, they failed to form an attachment.
What are the implications of Lorenz’s findings for the understanding of attachment in humans?
can’t be generalised to other animals or humans
unethical
How does Lorenz’s study contribute to the nature versus nurture debate in attachment theory?
Lorenz supports the idea that attachment is biologically hardwired, with instinctual behaviours and critical periods playing a key role.
What was the main aim of Harry Harlow’s research?
To test Learning theory by comparing attachment behaviour in baby monkeys given a wire surrogate mother producing milk with those given a soft towelling mother producing no milk.
Explain Harry Harlow’s research with rhesus monkeys and the role of comfort versus food in attachment formation?
Harlow conducted research with 8 rhesus monkeys which were caged from infancy with wire mesh food dispensing and cloth-covered surrogate mothers, to investigate which of the two alternatives would have more attachment behaviours directed towards it.
He measured the amount time that monkeys spent with each surrogate mother and the amount time that they cried for their biological mother.
What were the key differences in attachment behaviour observed between the monkeys raised with a cloth surrogate mother and those raised with a wire surrogate mother in Harlow's study?
Harlow’s findings revealed that separated infant rhesus monkeys would show attachment behaviours towards a cloth-covered surrogate mother when frightened, rather than a food-dispensing surrogate mother.
Monkeys were willing to explore a room full of novel toys when the cloth-covered monkey was present but displayed phobic responses when only the food-dispensing surrogate was present.
What conclusions did Harlow draw about the importance of contact comfort for attachment?
Harlow reviewed infant monkeys that were reared in a social (non-isolated) environment and observed that these monkeys went on to develop into healthy adults, while the monkeys in isolation with the surrogate mothers all displayed dysfunctional adult behaviour, including: being timid, unpredictable with other monkeys, they had difficulty with mating, the females were inadequate mothers
How did Harlow’s research challenge the previously dominant view of attachment as being primarily based on the provision of food?
The rhesus monkeys’ willingness to seek refuge from something offering comfort rather than food would suggest that food is not as crucial as comfort when forming a bond.
What are the implications of Harlow's research with rhesus monkeys?
Conducted in a controlled, artificial laboratory setting meaning it’s not reflective of the real-life situations (lacks ecological validity)
Unethical - the monkeys showed great distress when they were removed from their biological mothers
How does Harlow’s study contribute to the nature versus nurture debate in attachment theory?
Harlow emphasizes that the quality of caregiving and the emotional environment significantly shape attachment outcomes.
Who studied imprinting in geese and when?
Konrad Lorenz
1935
What is imprinting?
a process where young animals attach to, and follow the first moving object they see, usually the mother.
What was Lorenz’s method?
divided a clutch of goose eggs: half with the mother, half in an incubator with him as the first moving object
What were Lorenz’s results and what did they show?
incubator goslings followed Lorenz
naturally-hatched goslings followed the mother
showing imprinting occurs on the first moving object seen
When does imprinting occur according to Lorenz?
between 13 and 16 hours after hatching
this is known as the critical period
What happens if imprinting doesn’t occur during the critical period?
imprinting won’t happen at all
Is imprinting relevant to humans?
not directly
humans form attachments later and are more influenced by responsiveness than imprinting
Who studied the role of comfort in attachment using monkeys and when?
Harry Harlow
1959
What was Harlow’s aim?
to see if infant monkeys would prefer comfort over food in forming attachments
What was Harlow’s method?
baby rhesus monkeys were raised with two wire surrogate mothers: one provided food (wire mother), the other was covered in cloth but gave no food
What were Harlow’s results and what did they show?
monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother, especially when scared
showing a preference for comfort over food
What did Harlow conclude?
comfort is more important than food in forming attachments
lack of comfort leads to social/emotional problems
What was the long-term impact on Harlow’s monkeys?
monkeys showed signs of social disturbance, were poor parents, and had difficulty forming relationships
What are advantages of using animals in attachment research?
practical and ethical limitations of testing on humans are avoided
results like Harlow’s couldn’t be done with human infants.
What are disadvantages of using animals in research?
difficult to generalise to humans due to species differences
unethical due to animal suffering
What ethical issues are raised by Harlow’s study?
monkeys were emotionally harmed and could not consent raising concerns about psychological well-being.
What’s the importance of lab control in Harlow’s studies?
good control of variables strengthens the validity, but artificial settings reduce ecological validity