Animal studies of attachment

• Imprinting is a form of attachment where offspring follow the first large moving object.
• Lorenz (1935) investigated the mechanisms of imprinting, where some species of animals form an attachment to the first large moving object that they meet.

  • When the geese hatched Lorenz imitated a mother duck’s quacking sound, upon which the young birds regarded him as their mother and followed him accordingly. Lorenz found that geese follow the first moving object they see.

  This suggests that young animal imprint on any moving thing present during the critical period of development. The chicks were then later found trying to mate with the yellow rubber glove.
• Sensitive period is the best time within which attachments can form, though they can still form outside this period but with more difficulty.
• Harlow (1958) separated infant monkeys from their mothers immediately after birth and placed in cages with access to two surrogate mothers, one made of wire and one covered in soft terry toweling cloth.

  • Both groups of monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother (even if she had no milk).  The infant would only go to the wire mother when hungry.

  Once fed it would return to the cloth mother for most of the day.  If a frightening object was placed in the cage the infant took refuge with the cloth mother (its safe base ).