AO3

• Her strength is that there is supporting evidence for imprinting Guiton found that Leghorn chicks imprinted onto a yellow rubber glove that was used to feed them. The process of imprinting was so powerful that they later tried to mate with the glove. This supports Lorenzo's theory of imprinting, however, contrary to Lorenz's argument, this process was reversible after spending time with their own species. The chicks engaged in normal sexual behaviour with Leghorn chicks. This suggests imprinting is possible outside of the critical. suggested.
• A strength is that there is real life application. Animal studies have had a profound effect on psychologists understanding of human mother infant interaction and the importance of the quality of early relationships for later social development. Most importantly the study showed that attachment does not develop as a result of being fed by a mother figure but as a result of contact and comfort. This has helped social workers to understand risk factors in child neglect and has also given us insights into key animal behaviours such as the importance of baby monkeys being kept together with their mothers and families in the zoos.
• The limitation is that Harlow's research may be unethical. The monkeys were harmed because they were separated from their mothers and may have never developed a normal attachment. They were also purposely scared and suffered psychological harm. The geese could have been harmed because they would have not developed the skills needed to survive because they imprinted on Lorenz. A lot of harm was caused in the animals in the study. If animals are seen as the same as humans in order to study the negative effects would also apply to them. This suggests that although the study tells us how attachment is formed, they knowingly harmed the animals and broke ethical guidelines.
• Limitation is that imprinting has little relevance to explaining human attachment. Humans are not a precautional species as they are immobile at birth. The first moving object a human infant sees is rarely the mother. If imprinting occurred in humans, most babies would be attached to the midwife that helped burn them. This limits the generalizability of the theory as it cannot be applied to humans.