Animal studies of attachment

• Lorenz's experiment


  • Randomly divided goose eggs
  • Half hatched with mother in natural environment
  • Half hatched in incubator with Lorenz present
  • Group hatched in incubator followed Lorenz
  • Other group followed their mother, despite mixing up of groups
• Imprinting


  A strong bond formed between goslings and the first moving object they see, which cannot be easily broken
• Harlow's experiment


  • Separated 8 infant monkeys from mothers immediately after birth
  • Kept them in isolation
  • Presented them with two surrogate 'mothers': one made of wire, one covered in cloth, both dispensed food
  • When frightened, baby monkeys sought comfort from cloth-covered mother instead of wired one
• Contact comfort


  More important than food for attachment behaviour in animals and humans