animal studies of attachment

• outline Lorenz research into imprinting

  randomly divided clutch of goose eggs into 2 conditions:

  1. hatched with mother goose in natural environment
  2. hatched in incubator and first moving object they saw was Lorenz
• results of Lorenz research into imprinting

  • experimental group followed Lorenz everywhere
  • control group followed mother goose everywhere
  • when the 2 groups were mixed up = control went to mother and experimental went to Lorenz
  • identified a critical period = imprinting needs to take place within a certain time otherwise no attachment is formed
• define imprinting

  process in birds where they attach to the first thing they see upon hatching
• outline sexual imprinting case study

  • in a zoo, a peacock hatched in the reptile house
  • first thing it saw were giant tortoises
  • therefore as an adult, it only directed mating towards giant tortoises
• evaluate Lorenz research into imprinting (STRENGTHS)

  • research support by Regolin and Vallortigara.
  • chicks exposed to a moving shape combination
  • then a range of moving shape combinations moved infront of them
  • found that they followed the original most closely
  • Supports the view that young animals are born with the instinct to imprint during the critical period as Lorenz suggested.
• evaluate Lorenz research into imprinting (LIMITS)

  lacks ability to generalise to humans = mammalian attachment system is different and more complex
• outline Harlow research into contact comfort

  • 16 baby monkeys and 2 wire mothers
  • condition 1 = plain wire mother dispensed milk
  • condition 2 = cloth covered, heated wire mother dispensed milk
• results of Harlow research into contact comfort

  • monkeys cuddled cloth mother more than wire mother regardless of which dispensed milk
  • sought comfort from cloth mother when frightened with a noisy mechanical bear
• conclusions of Harlow research into contact comfort

  • suggested contact comfort is more important than food in attachment behaviour.
  • when monkeys were frightened with the bear, they were less scared with cloth mother than on their own and willing to explore = secure base behaviour.
  • suggested a critical period of 90 days = after this, it is impossible for attachment to form and damage is irreversible
  • long term effects = Harlow found that in adulthood, monkeys were aggressive and neglectful to their young due to maternal deprivation
• evaluate Harlow research into contact comfort (STRENGTHS)

  real world applications

  • help social workers understand that lack of attachment is a risk for child development = allows them to intervene and prevent poor outcomes.
  • helps zoos / breeding programmes understand the importance of attachment figures
• evaluate Harlow research into contact comfort (LIMITS)

  • lacks ability to generalise to humans = human brain and behaviour is more complex
  • ethical issues = long term damage caused to monkeys