animal studies of attachment

• Lorenz’s Imprinting Study – procedure

  🔹 Procedure:

  • Goose eggs split into two groups: one hatched with the mother, the other in an incubator with Lorenz.
  • Lorenz measured the critical period by varying when goslings first saw their caregiver.
  • Imprinting was assessed by observing whom the goslings followed and sought when separated.
• Lorenz’s Imprinting Study procedures

  🔹 Findings:

  • Mother-hatched goslings followed the mother, while incubator-hatched goslings followed Lorenz.
  • When mixed, goslings still returned to their original caregiver.
  • Critical period: Imprinting occurred within 13-16 hours, but after 32 hours, imprinting did not happen.
• Harlows monkey study procedures

  🔹 Procedure:

  • Baby monkeys were raised with two surrogate mothers: wire (with food) and cloth (no food).
  • Time spent with each surrogate and responses to fearful stimuli were observed.
  • Long-term effects were assessed by releasing monkeys into social groups later in life.
• Harlows monkey study - findings

  Findings:

  • Monkeys preferred the cloth mother for comfort, only using the wire mother for food.
  • When scared, they ran to the cloth mother, suggesting attachment is based on comfort, not food.
  • Later in life, monkeys were aggressive, less social, and struggled with reproduction. Some neglected or even killed their offspring, showing long-term negative effects of maternal deprivation.
• How has Lorenz’s research contributed to attachment theory?

  🟢 Supports Bowlby’s theory

  • Imprinting in goslings within a critical period (32 hours) contradicts learning theory (which says attachment is learned).
  • Supports Bowlby’s idea that attachment is innate and biological.
  • Adds credibility by contributing to human attachment research.
• How has Harlow’s research contributed to attachment theory?

  🟢 Supports Bowlby’s monotropic theory

  • Monkeys preferred the cloth mother over the wire mother (which provided food).
  • Contradicts learning theory (which suggests attachment forms through food).
  • Long-term effects (aggression, neglecting/killing offspring) support Bowlby’s idea that early attachment influences later relationships.
  • Adds credibility by improving understanding of human attachments
• Why is a confounding variable a limitation of Harlow’s research?

  🔴 Confounding variables

  • The cloth mother’s head resembled a real monkey more than the wire mother’s head.
  • Monkeys may have spent more time with it due to familiarity, not comfort.
  • Questions credibility of the conclusion that attachment is based on comfort.
• Why might Harlow’s research lack validity?

  🔴 Alternative explanations

  • Monkeys were regularly exposed to fearful stimuli.
  • Later aggression and social difficulties may have resulted from trauma, not lack of attachment.
  • Questions credibility of the study’s conclusions.
• Why might animal studies of attachment not generalise to humans?

  🔴 Issues with generalisability

  • Animal and human infants differ (e.g., many animals are mobile at birth, while humans are dependent on caregivers).
  • Humans may attach for different reasons, such as food accessibility.
  • Questions credibility when applying findings to human attachment.