animal studies : Harlow

• Which animals did Harlow study?

  Rhesus monkeys
• What did Harlow seek to demonstrate?

  That mother love (attachment) was not based on the feeding bond between mother and infant as predicted by learning theory
• What two "mothers" did Harlow create?

  Two wire mothers, each with a different 'head' - one was covered in soft cloth
• How many rhesus monkeys were studied?

  8
• How long were the rhesus monkeys studied for?

  165 days
• How were the 8 monkeys split?

  For four of the monkeys, the feeding bottle was on the cloth-covered mother and on the plain wire mother for the other four monkeys.
• What did Harlow measure?

  The amount of time each infant spent with two different mothers
• What did Harlow make observations of?

  The monkey infants' responses when frightened by, for example, a mechanical teddy bear
• What was Harlow's main finding?

  All eight monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth-covered mother whether or not this mother had the feeding bottle
• What did Harlow find in relation to the monkeys who fed from the wire-mother?

  Only spent a short amount of time getting milk and then returned to the cloth-covered mother
• What did the monkeys do when frightened?

  All monkeys clung to the cloth-covered mother
• What do these findings suggest?

  Infants do not develop an attachment to the person who feeds them but the person offering contact comfort
• How were Harlow's monkeys socially abnormal?


  They froze or fled when approached by other monkeys
• How were Harlow's monkeys sexually abnormal?


  They did not show normal mating behaviour and did not cradle their own babies
• What was the critical period for the monkeys?

  90 days
• What is the case after the critical period?

  After this time attachment was impossible and the damage done by deprivation became irreversible
• What real life applications does Harlow's research have?

  It has led to improved practices within hospitals
• What was believed in the 1950's?


  Physical contact with infants was considered harmful to infant's development
• What did the belief that physical contact with infants was considered harmful to infant's development lead to?

  Sterile, contact-less nurseries across the country
• What did Bowlby claim about physical contact with infants?

  The mother provides much more than food to the infant, including a unique bond that positively influences the child's development and mental health
• How did Harlow contribute to improved practices in hospitals?

  Harlow showed that comfort is more important than food in creating attachments
• How are Harlow's studies considered unethical?


  In their nature as well as Harlow's descriptions of them
• What did Harlow's unethical treatment of animals lead to?

  Heightened awareness of the treatment of laboratory animals, and helped propel the creation of today's ethics regulations
• How were monkey's harmed in Harlow's studies?

  Deprived of maternal affection, potentially leading to what humans refer to as "panic disorders".
• Who commented on the ethics of Harlow's studies?

  University of Washington professor Gene Sackett
• What did University of Washington professor Gene Sackett claim?

  Harlow's experiments provided the impetus for the animal liberation movement in the U.S
• What confounding variable did Harlow's research have?

  The faces of the two surrogate mothers were different
• How were the faces of the two surrogate mothers were different?

  The face on the cloth mother was more appealing that the wire mother
• What may be the case due to the confounding variable?

  It is possible that the monkey's spent more time with the cloth mother because of their appealing face rather than comfort
• Why is it a problem that Harlow's research has this confounding variable?

  It's possible that there are alternative explanations of why the monkey's spent more time with the cloth mother