Animal Studies of Attachment: Lorenz and Harlow

• • Lorenz demonstrated the concept of imprinting - this is where animals will attach to the first moving object or person they see directly after birth.
• Lorenz showed that imprinting occurred in a clutch of goose eggs, where half attached to and followed Lorenz after seeing him as the first moving person after birth.
• Imprinting/the formation of an attachment must occur within the critical period of attachment development, which is usually the first 30 months of life, after which an attachment is not possible and the consequences of a failure to form an attachment are irreversible.
• • Lorenz's studies lack generalisability e.g. mammalian attachment systems are different to that of birds, because mammals can potentially form attachments at any time during their lives and at a greater emotional intensity.
  • Therefore, this suggests that such findings have low ecological validity because they cannot be generalised beyond the research setting within which they were found.
• Harlow demonstrated the importance of contact comfort with rhesus monkeys and two ‘Iron Maidens’
• • Researchers found that when the monkeys were scared, irrespective of which wire monkey was dispensing milk, the baby monkeys would always seek comfort from the cloth-bound mother.
  • This led to the conclusion that contact comfort was more important than food in the development of attachments
• Harlow also reported developmental issues associated with the infant monkeys, even those who had the option of choosing the cloth-bound mother
• The researchers found that the deprived monkeys were less skilled at mating, were aggressive towards their own children and would be socially reclusive. This also demonstrated the importance of a secure attachment to a primary attachment figure within the critical period i.e. the first 30 months of life.
• • Harlow’s research has significant practical value, especially in the design of zoos and the care of animals in shelters.
• • Harlow's research demonstrated the importance of attachment figures and intellectual stimulation, alongside contact comfort, which means that zoos should ensure that animals have the opportunity to form such attachments in order to ensure healthy development.
• Despite ethical issues not detracting from the quality or utility of the research, there were some significant ethical breaches.

  • For example, long-term psychological harm was inflicted upon the monkeys, in the form of later difficulties mating and forming secure attachments, which Harlow most likely envisioned