Attachment: Animal Studies of Attachment

Lorenz: Aim

To investigate the mechanisms of imprinting

Lorenz: Procedure

Hatched one batch of goslings with him and not the natural mother, labelled them and placed them under a box and when the box was removed they went to Lorenz and not the natural mother

Lorenz: Critical Period

Between 12 and 17 hours

Critical Period

The time in which attachment must occur

Imprinting

a form of attachment exhibited mainly by nidifugous birds whereby close contact is kept with the first moving object encountered

Imprinting: Evolution

The young must remain close to the mother to be protected and survive and has evolved via natural selection

Harlow: Aim

to test learning theory by comparing attachment behaviour in baby monkeys given different mothers

Harlow: Sample

8 monkeys

Harlow: Conditions

Cage with wire mother producing milk and a towelling mother not producing milk
Cage with wire mother not producing milk and a towelling mother producing milk
Cage containing a wire mother producing milk
Cage containing a towelling mother producing milk

Harlow: Procedure

The monkeys were frightened with a loud noise to test for mother preference and a larger cage was used to test the monkeys degree of exploration

Harlow: Results

Monkeys preferred contact with the towelling mother. Those with only a wire surrogate showed signs of stress. When frightened monkeys clung to the towelling mother

Harlow: Conclusions

Contact comfort is associated with lower levels of stress and a willingness to explore, indicating emotional security

Harlow: Long Term Effects

Abnormal social behaviour, more aggressive, unskilled in mating, poor mothers who neglected and mistreated their own children

Lorenz: Generalisability

Mammals show more emotional attachment and can form attachment at any time though it's easier in infancy

Guiton et al (1966)

Research found that chickens who imprinted on washing up gloves would try and mate with them as adults before realising they preferred mating with other chickens

Harlow: Value

Important theoretical value a to how we understand human mother-infant interaction

Harlow: Application

Can help social workers understand risk factors in children suffering abuse or the importance of proper attachment figures in Zoos

Harlow: Unethical

Monkeys are quite similar to humans, so presumably their suffering was human like