AO3 - Harlow

• Harlow’s research has helped social workers to understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse such as a lack of comfort or affection.
• The fact that isolated monkeys displayed long-term dysfunctional behaviour illustrates that early attachment experiences predict long-term social development.
• Despite being fed, isolated monkeys failed to develop functional social behaviour, which would suggest that animals have greater needs that just the provision of food.
• Green (1994) states that, on a biological level, all mammals, including rhesus monkeys have the same brain structure as humans; suggesting that we can learn something from Harlow's research.
• Harlow’s research has profound implications for childcare provisions.
• It is questionable whether Harlow's findings and conclusions can be extrapolated and applied to complex human behaviours.
• Animal studies have problems with generalisation to humans.
• The use of animals in research can be questioned on ethical grounds.
• Harlow's method was very unethical, as newborn infant monkeys were taken from their mother's for research.
• Harlow's experiment raises ethical issues of harm for the treatment of the rhesus monkeys.
• Harlow's research took place in a lab setting with high control, so is believed to have high reliability.
• Harlow's research caused severe, long-term distress to the rhesus monkeys. However his study has important theoretical and practical applications.
• Howe (1998) claims that Harlow's research has practical applications in how to prevent negative outcomes in child care.
• The monkeys showed long-lasting effects of their early experiences, including abnormal social and mating behaviours.
• Harlow's research has implications for understanding the importance of contact comfort in attachment, both in animals and potentially in humans.
• Animal studies of attachment may not be directly generalisable to humans due to differences in conscious decision-making and emotional bonding. Further research is needed.