Harlow

• Aim of Harlow's study

  • to test learning theory by comparing attachment behaviour in baby monkeys given a wire surrogate mother producing milk, with those given a soft towelling mother producing no milk
• Harlow's procedure

  1. he constructed 2 types of surrogate mothers - a wire mother and a soft towelling mother - 16 baby monkeys were used, 4 in each of 4 conditions
  2. the amount of time spent with each mother, as well as feeding time was recorded
  3. the monkeys were frightened with a loud noise to test for mother preference during stress
  4. a larger cage was also used to test the monkeys degree of exploration
• What were the 4 conditions that Harlow used?

  1. a cage containing a wire mother producing milk and a soft mother producing no milk

  2. a cage containing a wire mother producing no milk and a soft mother producing milk

  3. cage with just a wire mother producing milk

  4. cage with only a soft mother producing milk
• What did Harlow find?

  Attachment theory and the importance of contact comfort in infant-mother bonding.

  • the monkeys preferred contact with the towelling mother when given a choice, regardless of whether she produced milk
  • monkeys with only a wire surrogate mother had diarrhoea (a sign of stress)
  • when frightened by a loud noise, monkeys cling to the towelling mother
  • in a larger cage, monkeys with a soft mother explored more and visited their surrogate mother more often
• Harlow's conclusions

  • Rhesus monkeys have an innate, unlearned need for contact comfort which suggests that attachment concerns emotional security more than food
  • contact comfort is associated with lower levels of stress and a willingness to explore - indicating emotional security
• Evaluation of Harlow's study

  • study involved animals and therefore we cannot generalise the results to humans
  • ethical issues involving the separation of baby monkeys and the stress caused to them
• When was Harlow's original study conducted?

  1959
• When was Harlow's second study conducted?

  1965
• What did Harlow et al do?

  • they raised new born monkeys in total isolation from other living beings for 3, 6, 12, 24 months - these monkeys displayed signs of psychological disturbance
  • when these monkeys were removed from isolation, they were fearful of other monkeys and had no interaction with them besides to attack them - the monkeys also started to harm themselves
  • Harlow wanted to see what these monkeys would be like as parents so created an apparatus he called a "rape rack" as they had no ability to engage in sexual courtship - as parents, they were abusive and neglected their child
• What do Harlow et al's findings suggest?

  • that social interactions are essential for normal social and emotional development to occur
  • HOWEVER, the effects of isolation were reversible after being paired with a 'therapist female monkey' and met a couple of times during the week