A03

• Harlow’s findings were immensely influential on our understanding of human attachment. This is because he disproved the theory that love was based on physical needs and that infants only grew attached to their mothers/ primary caregiver because they provided food.
• His findings have practical applications for both humans and monkeys. For humans it shows how vital it is that all of children’s needs are catered for, taking care of physical needs alone is not sufficient. For monkeys reared in zoos it shows they look for comfort in the fluffy surrogate mother even if that surrogate mother never provided food.
• However, it could be argued his research was unethical as it caused severe long-term distress to the monkeys. Although it can be argued it was ethical as his conclusions have important theoretical and practical applications.