AO3

• counter evidence from animal research

  P: A range of animal studies has shown that young animals do not necessarily attach to or imprint on those who feed them

  E: Lorenz’s geese imprinted before they were fed and maintained these attachments regardless of who fed them

  E: Harlows monkeys attached to a soft surrogate instead of a wire one that dispensed milk

  L: In both these animal studies it is clear that attachment doesn’t develop as a result of feeding
• counter evidence from human research

  P: Research with human infants also shows that feeding does not appear to be an important factor in humans

  E: For example, in Schaffer and Emerson’s study many babies developed a primary attachment to theor biological mother even though other carers did most of the feeding

  E: These findings are a problem for learning theory as they show that feeding is not the key element to attachment so there is no unconditioned stimulus and primary drive involved

  L: This counter evidence therefore acts as a limitation for learning theory