Harlow

• Harlow: aim

  to investigate whether food or comfort is more important in the formation of attachments
• Harlow: method

  - constructed 2 surrogate mothers: a wire mother and towel mother

  - 16 baby monkeys were used

  - the wire mother dispensed milk and the towel mother didn't

  - the amount of time the monkey spent with each mother was recorded

  - the monkey was then startled by a loud nouse and the mother they went to for comfort was recorded.
• Harlow: results


  - the monkeys preferred to make contact with the soft towel mother

  - they would stretch across the wire mother for food whilst still making contact with the towel mother

  - when startled by the loud noise, the monkeys clung tightly to the towel mother
• Harlow: conclusion

  Monkeys have an innate drive to seek contact comfort - emotional need for security overrides the need for food
• 3 things the monkeys from Harlow's study displayed as a result of the study

  - more aggressive

  - less sociable

  - unskilled at mating
• Harlow - positive evaluation

  Can be applied to everyday life - his research has helped social workers and psychologists understand the importance of bonding in childhood
• Harlow - 2 negative evaluations

  Unethical - the monkeys suffered as a result of the procedures. Harlow was also aware of the suffering he caused

  Can't generalise findings to humans - human behaviour is more complex than that of monkeys