AO3 animal studies

• One strength of Harlow's studies is it has real-world value
• Importance of bonding has been applied to early childcare such as contact between mother and babies in the first few hours after birth
• Harlow's study has helped social workers and clinical psychologist understand that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development allowing them to intervene and prevent poor outcomes
• Not appropriate to generalise Harlow's findings to humans as the human brain is still more complex
• One strength of Lorenz's study is the research support for the concept of imprinting. A study by Regolin and Vallortigara (1995) supports Lorenz's idea of imprinting.
• Chicks were exposed to simple shape combinations that moved, such as a triangle with a rectangle in front
• A range of shape combinations were then moved in front of them and they followed the original most closely
• This supports the view that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object present in the critical window of development, as predicted by Lorenz
• One limitation of Lorenz's studies is it cannot be generalised to humans
• The mammalian attachment system is quite different and more complex than that in birds
• The value of Harlow's research is not just theoretical but also practical. We now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes in the wild.
• The generalisation of animal behaviour to human psychology is problematic
• Humans and animals have very different biology, and humans have various social and cultural experiences that inform their behaviour
• Harlow's findings on contact comfort


  Highly influential
• Bowlby's argument

  • Similar to monkeys, infants crave comfort from their mothers, attempting to form a monotropic relationship
  • If this fails, then human infants will grow into adults with poor socialisation, similar to the monkeys without a cloth mother
• Lorenz's findings on the critical period in geese


  Highly influential
• Bowlby's argument

  • There is a similar critical period for humans, 6 to 30 months
  • If attachment does not form in that time, it will result in permanent social problems
• There are practical applications of Harlow and Lorenz's work
• Knowledge initially gained from these studies and later developed by Bowlby has been applied to early childcare
• Practical applications

  • After birth, immediate physical contact between the mother and their babies is now encouraged
  • Social service workers actively investigate cases of infant neglect, understanding its long-term harm
• Harlow is criticised on ethical grounds for the harm caused to many intentionally orphaned primate infants and for causing high-stress levels
• Some psychologists argue the long-term benefits to millions of human infants (resulting from Harlow's research) justify the studies when considering a cost-benefit