Animal Studies

• Animal studies of attachment


  • Lorenz's studies on imprinting in geese, showing a critical period for forming strong bonds

  Harlow's studies on rhesus monkeys, demonstrating their need for physical comfort over just food
• The generalization of animal behavior to human psychology is problematic due to differences in biology and social/cultural experiences
• Learning theory provides an intuitive explanation for attachment, but Harlow's research on rhesus monkeys rejects a simple stimulus-response view
• There are issues with the research, as they assume the results can be generalised to humans
• Humans differ to animals in many ways, one of which is that behaviour is affected by conscious decisions
• Animal attachment behaviours have been mirrored in humans


  Animal studies can be useful in understanding human behaviour
• Animal studies


  • They give us insight into human attachment
  • They are important
• Harlow's monkeys


  • Comfort is preferred over food, as they always chose the cloth mother, unless they were hungry
• Harlow's monkey study


  • It has provided us with valuable information about attachments
  • It shows the importance of early attachments on later relationships
  • It has helped social workers understand the severity of neglect and abuse
• The monkeys were separated from their mothers at a young age, so they were socially abnormal, resulting in a lack of generalisability
• The evidence is limited by the disputing over the characteristics of imprinting
• Originally it was thought that an object was 'stamped' on the nervous system, but not it is thought it is less certain than this
• Guiton found imprinting in chickens


  • Imprinting could be reversed, and after spending time with their own species they could engage in normal behaviour
• It is thought imprinting is no different than any other type of learning
• The application of animal studies to real life is unknown
• Harlow's research may have been affected by confounding variables
• The two objects differed in many ways, one of which was the heads
• It is possible the monkeys preferred one over the other due to the more attractive head on the cloth mother
• Thus the conclusions lack internal validity