Animal Studies of Attachment

• What is the main focus of animal studies of attachment?

  How animals develop attachments
• What did Harlow's research on contact comfort demonstrate?

  • Animals prefer contact comfort over food
  • Contact comfort provides relief during anxiety
  • Cloth monkeys were preferred during distress
• What did Harlow use to study attachment in monkeys?

  A wire monkey and a cloth-covered monkey
• What was the outcome when monkeys were exposed to distressing scenarios?

  They preferred the cloth monkey for comfort
• What negative behaviors did the monkeys develop as adults?

  Aggressive and anti-social behavior
• What ethical issues arose from Harlow's study?

  • Long-term suffering of the monkeys
  • Unnecessary harm caused during the study
  • Monkeys may not have acted normally
• How did Harlow's findings relate to human attachment?

  • Lack of bonding affects children negatively
  • Similarities between monkeys and human attachment
  • Quality of attachment impacts later life
• What evolutionary relationship exists between monkeys and humans?

  They evolved from a common ancestor
• What are the key ideas from Lorenz's animal studies on attachment?

  • Imprinting occurs at birth
  • Attachment formed through sight, sound, movement
  • Critical period for attachment development
• What did Lorenz do with the goose eggs in his experiment?

  Transferred them to an incubator
• What did Lorenz find about the timing of imprinting?

  It occurs during a critical period
• What did Lorenz conclude about the nature of imprinting?

  Imprinting is irreversible
• How does imprinting affect mating behavior in animals?

  It influences mating preferences later in life
• What are the generalization issues of Lorenz's study to humans?

  • Geese are birds; humans are mammals
  • Mammals have two-way emotional attachments
  • Birds do not exhibit the same attachment behaviors
• What evidence supports Lorenz's theory of imprinting?

  • Regolin's study with baby chickens
  • Chickens followed a moving shape from birth
  • Supports the idea of critical period for imprinting
• How does Seebach's research relate to human attachment?

  • People form attachments to their PCs
  • Similar to imprinting in animals
  • Shows parallels between human and animal attachment processes