Animal Studies

Advantages of animal studies

• no demand characteristics

• no social desirability

• protects humans

Disadvantages of animal studies

• unethical

• cannot be generalised

Explain Lorenz’s research

• observed the idea of imprinting (imprint on the first moving object you see and this is an innate process)

• Procedure:

  • used goslings and a classic experiment

  • 2 groups - control one half hatch in incubator and the first thing they see in Lorenz

  • experimental other half hatched with mother goose in natural environment

• Findings:

  • control group followed Lorenz everywhere whilst experimental followed mother goose everywhere

  • identified a critical period - imprinting must take place during this time - if imprinting does not occur during this time an attachment does not form

  • his study shows that attachment is in our nature

Explain Harlow’s research

• observed the idea of contact comfort

• Procedure - soft object can serve some function of a mother

  • reared baby monkeys with two wire models - both dispensed milk but one was a cloth-covered mother

• Findings - monkeys sought comfort from cloth mother during fear even when both dispensed milk

• shows that contact comfort more important than food

• also tested maternal deprivation - monkeys reared with wire mothers - most dysfunctional but most didn’t develop normal social behaviour - became aggressive and less sociable

Evaluation of Lorenz study

Weakness:

• cannot generalise animals to human

  • mammalian attachment is different from those of birds such as more emotional development

  • however there is some influence understanding of human development

• some observations have been questioned

  • e.g. that imprinting has a permanent effect on mating behaviour

  • Guiton et al. proved this theory wrong - chicken imprinted on yellow gloves but when older preferred to mate with other chickens

  • imprinting & mating not a link nor a permanent effect

Evaluation of Harlow’s Study

Weakness:

• Ethical Issues:

  • monkeys suffered

  • monkeys similar to humans - so suffering quite human like

  • had a detrimental/permenant effect on the monkeys

    Strength:

• Holds theoretical value:

  • attachment does not only develop as a result of being fed

  • could be due to contact comfort

  • monkeys preferred cloth monkey compared to wire mother

  • shows that importance of quality of relationship rather than food

• Holds Practical value:

  • helps social workers understand risks factors in child neglection and abuse

  • understand the importance of attachment figures for animals in zoos and breeding programmes