harlow

• Ethical issues

  Harlow's research caused long term severe distress to the monkeys. However his findings and conclusions are theoretical and practical.
• Limitation is unable to generalise the findings from monkeys to humans. Rhesus monkeys are much more similar to humans than Lorenz’s birds and all mammals share some common attachment features. However the human brain and behaviour is more complex than monkeys. This means that it may not be appropriate to generalise the findings from monkeys to humans.
• Strength is that it is important to real world applications. It has helped social workers and clinical psychologists that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor  in child development allowing them to intervene and prevent poor outcomes Howe 1998. We also now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes in the wild. This means that the research is not just theoretical but also practical.
• The importance of contact comfort

  He observed newborns kept in a bare cage often died but if they had a cloth to cuddle they survived.
• Procedure

  He observed the idea that soft objects serve some of the same functions as a mother. He created two conditions: a wire mother in open condition dispensed milk and in another the  cloth-covered mother dispensed milk.
• Findings

  The monkeys cuddled the cloth- covered mother in preference to the plain wire mother and sought comfort from the cloth mother when frightened by a mechanical toy that made noises. 
• Maternally deprived monkeys as adults

  Researchers found that these monkeys were dysfunctional but the monkeys with the plain wire mother were even worse. When it came to adulthood and courtship the monkeys did not reproduce as often as the monkeys who had a regular mother as they lacked skills of comfort etc. the monkeys neglected their children and were very aggressive towards them and other monkeys. In some cases they killed their babies.
• The critical period of normal development

  The critical period for the monkeys for normal development is 90 days. After this time attachment became impossible and damage done by early deprivation was irreversible.