suggests that organisms have a biological propensity to form attachments to one single subject
it supports the view that having a biological basis for an attachment is adaptive as it promotes survival
lorenz procedure:
12 goose eggs randomy divided
half to hatch with mother goose in natural environment
half to hatch in an incubator where first moving object they would see is lorenz
mixed all goslings together to see who they would follow
lorenz findings:
incubator group followed lorenz
control group followed mother goose
lorenz conclusion:
lorenz indentified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place eg, few hours after hatching
if imprinting did not occur within that time, chicks, did not attach themselves to the mother figure
harlow's research (1958) importance of contact comfort - procedure:
harlow created 2 wired mothers each with a different head
one was cloth covered
studied 16rehus monkeys - 2 conditions:
milk dispensed to wired mother
milk from cloth covered mother
harlow - findings:
all monkeys spent most time with mothers that milk was dispensed from
when frightened they would return to their preferred mother for reassurance
findings suggest infants dont develop on attachment to person who feeds them but offers comfort
harlow - conlcusion:
as monkeys grew up, monkeys who were deprived from real mother suffered severe consequences = more aggressive + less skilled in mating than other monkeys
