animal studies in attachment

• LORENZ'S 1935 IMPRINTING STUDY - AIM & PROCEDURE

  • aims to investigate the mechanism of imprinting.
  • Lorenz split a large clutch of goose eggs into 2 batches: hatch naturally with the mother and hatch in an incubator making sure he was the first living thing they see.
  • behaviour of the goslings was recording.
  • marked the goslings so he knew which were which.
  • both groups were let out together, so their behaviour can be used to test the effect of imprinting.
• LORENZ'S IMPRINTING STUDY - FINDINGS & CONCLUSION:

  • after birth, naturally hatched batch followed the mother whilst the incubator batch followed Lorenz - no bond to natural mother.
  • proposed effects are long lasting & irreversible.
  • noticied how the process of imprinting occurred over a short time after birth - known as the critical period.
  • suggests imprinting is an innate mechanism which species are biologically programmed to do as soon as they see the first moving object.
• imprinting is an innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time in development to the first moving thing it sees upon being born.
• the critical period is a biologically determined period of time during which certain charactertistics can develop, these developments could not be possible outside this time.
• LORENZ SEXUAL IMPRINTING STUDY

  • investigated relationship between imprinting and adult mate preference - imprinting will lead to later courtship behaviours.
  • Lorenz studied a peacock being reared in a reptile house in a zoo imprinted on a giant tortoise.
  • later the peacock would show courtship behaviour towards tortoises.
• sexual imprinting is the idea that early imprinting impacts later mate preferences - animals will choose a mate who is similar to the object / species they had imprinted on.
• STRENGTH OF LORENZ - SUPPORT FOR IMPRINTING:

  • gulton - demonstrated that leghorn chickens exposed to yellow rubber gloves for feeding them during the first few weeks became imprinted to the gloves.
  • supports the view that young animals are not born with a predisposition to imprint on an object but any moving thing present in the critical period of development.
  • suggests that imprinting is innate and supports Lorenz.
• LIMITATION OF LORENZ - CONTRADICTORY EVIDENCE:

  • guiton - he could reverse the effects of imprinting in the chickens with the gloves, through spending time with their own species enabled them to engage in normal sexual behaviours.
  • suggests that imprinting is not as permanent as Lorenz suggested and can be reversed with opportunity to engage and interact.
  • findings are inconsistent.
• LIMITATION OF LORENZ - GENERALISABILITY TO HUMANS:

  • humans and animals are physiologically different.
  • the way a human infant develops an attachment with their primary caregiver could be different to that of geese.
  • not appropriate to extrapolate findings by lorenz to the human population.
• HARLOW'S MONKEY STUDY - AIM & PROCEDURE

  • what is more important when forming an attachment, food or contact comfort?
  • 2 types of surrogate mothers made: wired mother and soft cloth mother.
  • 8 monkeys used - 4 in each of the 2 conditions:
  • wired mother producing milk and a soft cloth mother producing no milk.
  • wired mother producing no milk and a soft cloth mother producing milk.
  • studied for 165 days.
  • amount of time spent with each mother was recorded.
  • frightened with loud noises to test mother preference in stressful times.
• HARLOW'S MONKEY STUDY - FINDINGS

  • all monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth covered mother, regardless of the feeding bottle.
  • the monkeys that were fed from the wire mother only spent a short amount of time getting food and then returned to the cloth mother.
  • when frightened, all monkeys remained with the cloth covered mother.
• HARLOW'S MONKEY STUDY - CONCLUSION

  • suggests monkeys have an innate unlearned need for contact comfort - attachment concerns emotional security more than food.
  • LONG-LASTING EFFECTS:
  • motherless monkeys, even with contact comfort, developed abnormally - socially and sexually and did not cradle their own babies.
  • 90 days after the study, attachment was impossible and the damage from early deprivation was irreversible.
• STRENGTH OF HARLOW - THEORETICAL VALUE

  • has a very big effect on understanding mother-infant attachment.
  • harlow proposed attachment doesnt form as a result of being fed but as a result of contact comfort.
  • harlow's study has played an influential role in theoretical understanding of attachment and its formation.
• STRENGTH OF HARLOW - PRACTICAL VALUE

  • howe - harlow's work has helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse, and so how to intervene.
  • also influenced the care of captive monkeys.
  • helps to ensure psychologists employ strategies to ensure their development is not impaired due to neglect.
  • also that animals in zoos must have a adequate attachment figure so they develop in a healthy manner.
  • so, can be used to make practical changes.
• LIMITATION OF HARLOW - ETHICAL ISSUES:

  • monkeys are taken from their natural mothers and suffered distress being reared in cages and isolated.
  • monkeys were subject to psychological harm as they were separated from their biological mother.
  • monkeys experienced long-lasting effects - socially & sexually abnormal.
  • detrimental effect on the monkey's development.
  • research may not be justified due to breaching ethical guidelines.