Discuss what animal studies tell us about human attachment

• Outline two animal studies of attachment. Discuss what this tells us about human attachment -AO1 - Lorenz


   Lorenz looked at imprinting in geese. The goose eggs randomly divided; half hatched with the mother present, control group. 

  •      And other half in an incubator with Lorenz present found that the incubator group imprinted on and followed Lorenz, control group followed the mother. 

  •      These bonds were irreversible, and the birds would choose to mate with objects similar to their imprinted object. 
• Outline two animal studies of attachment. Discuss what this tells us about human attachment -AO1 - Harlow


  •      Harlow’s monkeys in a controlled environment, infant monkeys with two mother surrogates plain wire mother dispensing food, cloth-covered mother with no food. 

  •      Both groups of monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother, even if she had no milk. 

  •      As adults, the privated monkeys suffered severe social and emotional consequences, attacked and sometimes killed their own offspring. 
• AO3 - Problems of generalising findings from animal studies to humans


  E:  Since experiments were conducted on animals cannot be used to give an insight into human experiences of attachment

  L:  Therefore results and conclusions cannot be generalised to human attachment. 

  CA:  However Harlow’s study is more useful as used mammals may be more relevant to human experience 
• AO3 - Conclusions of imprinting/critical period for human attachment have practical applications.

  E:  From Lorenz’s study the window of opportunity in which attachments must be formed otherwise this may lead to negative long-term consequencesE: Critical period lead to emphasis on early adoption for infants as well as key workers for day care

  L: Therefore understanding of critical period is useful for ensuring that children form healthy attachments.       

   
• AO3 - Critical period is supported in by sensitive period from Romanian orphan studies 


  E:  Lorenz found a critical period for attachments must be formed otherwise this may lead to negative long-term consequences 

  E: Romanian orphan studies say there is a sensitive period of six months in order for children to develop healthy attachments or will be disorganised.L: Supports the findings of Lorenz in human studies so are credible with generalising to human attachment. 
• AO3 - Animal studies go against learning theory of attachment


  E:  Harlow’s suggestion that contact comfort and sensitive responsiveness is more important than foodE:  While learning theory studied stimulus and response and says attachment is aused by an association of a primary attachment figure with food, classical conditioning

  L:  Therefore animal studies contradict learning theory and so findings cannot be generalised to human attachment.