Animal Studies

• What was the aim of Harlow's research?

  To test if infants prefer comfort or food
• What types of surrogate mothers were used in Harlow's research?

  A harsh wire monkey and a soft towelling monkey
• How many baby rhesus monkeys were used in Harlow's study?

  16 baby rhesus monkeys
• How were the monkeys divided in Harlow's study?

  4 in each condition
• What were the conditions set up in Harlow's research?

  • Condition 1: Wire monkey with milk, cloth monkey with no milk
  • Condition 2: Wire monkey with no milk, cloth monkey with milk
  • Condition 3: Wire monkey with milk
  • Condition 4: Soft monkey with milk
• What did Harlow's findings reveal about the monkeys' preferences?

  Monkeys preferred the cloth mother over the wire mother
• What behavior did the monkeys exhibit when frightened?

  They sought refuge with the cloth mother
• What behavioral differences were observed in monkeys with surrogate mothers?

  • More timid
  • Did not know how to act around other monkeys
  • Easily bullied
  • Difficulty with mating
  • Inadequate mothering in females
• What conclusion did Harlow draw about mother-infant emotional bonds?

  They result from comfort and tactile contact
• What did Harlow conclude about maternal deprivation after the critical period?

  No exposure could alter emotional damage
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Harlow's research?

  Strengths:

  • Controlled extraneous variables in a lab setting

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Lacks ecological validity
  • May be seen as unethical
• What was the focus of Lorenz's research?

  Imprinting in goslings
• What did Lorenz find about goslings after hatching?

  They follow the first moving thing they see
• What does Lorenz's research suggest about the biological basis for attachment?

  It is adaptive for survival
• How does the mobility of goslings compare to human babies regarding attachment formation?

  Goslings imprint quickly due to mobility
• Why do human babies develop attachment later than goslings?

  They are born immobile, delaying attachment