Results

• Harlow found that the babies cuddled the cloth covered monkey in preference to the wire monkey and sought comfort from the cloth monkey when frightened , regardless of which model dispensed the milk
• This preference for the cloth covered monkey showed that contact comfort was of more importance to the monkeys than food for attachment
• Harlow reviewed infant monkeys that were reared in a social environment and observed that these monkeys went on to develop into healthy adults

  The monkeys raised with surrogate wire mothers all displayed dysfunctional adult behaviour
• What types of dysfunctional adult behaviour were displayed by the experimental monkeys?

  The behaviours displayed were..

  • Being timid
  • Having difficulty mating
  • Being more aggressive and less social
  • Poor maternal skills towards their young
• Much like Lorenz , Harlow concluded that there was a critical period for attachment formation which was 90 days

  After this point attachment was impossible and the damage from early deprivation was done