Detailed AO1 descriptions and AO3 evaluation of the key animal studies for attachment - Lorenz 1935 and Harlow 1959. Includes the aim, procedure, findings, and conclusion of these studies as well as strengths and weaknesses for evaluation.
Lorenz studies the imprinting behaviour of goslings and H...
ANIMAL STUDIES OF ATTACHMENT
Lorenz (1935)
● Aim: to investigate imprinting behaviour in gosling
● Method:
○ Took a clutch of gosling eggs and separated them into 2 groups
○ One left with their mother goose + the other was placed in an incubator - first saw Lorenz
○ The group that saw Lorenz was marked and then all the goslings were placed together
■ Lorenz and the actual mother goose were both present
● Findings:
○ The 2 groups immediately divided themselves
○ Incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere
○ This imprinting happened within a 'critical period' of around 2 days
■ They would imprint on any consistently moving present thing
■ Not all birds imprint on humans
● Conclusion: imprinting is a form of attachment, exhibited mainly by nidifugous birds (ones who have to leave
the nest early), whereby close contact is kept with the first large moving object encountered
● Evaluation AO3:
○ Strength
■ Influential within developmental psychology - imprinting seen to be irreversible suggests that
attachment formation happens within a specific time frame
■ High influential in the way child care is administered
○ Weaknesses
■ Criticised for extrapolation - humans and animals are physiologically different
■ Cannot be generalised
■ Later researchers have questioned the conclusions - Guiton et al (1966) found that chickens
imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try to mate with them as adults but with
experience they learned to prefer other chickens
■ Suggests that the impact of imprinting on mating behaviour is not as permanent as Lorenz
believed
Harlow (1959)
● Aim: to test learning theory by comparing attachment behaviour in baby monkeys given wire surrogate mother
producing milk with those given a soft towelling mother producing no milk
● method:
○ 2 types of surrogate mothers were constructed
■ A harsh wire mother
■ A soft towelling mother
○ 16 baby monkeys used + 4 in each condition
■ Wire mother producing milk + towel mother no milk
■ Wire mother no milk + towel mother producing milk
■ Wire mother producing milk
■ Towel mother producing milk
○ The amount of time spent with each mother was recorded
○ The amount of time feeding was recorded
○ The monkeys were frightened with loud noises to test for mother preference during times of stress
● Findings:
○ Preferred contact with towel mother when given a choice
■ Regardless of whether she produced milk
○ Monkeys even stretched across to the wire mother to feed while still clinging onto the towel mother -
provided comfort
○ Monkey with only the wire mother suffered from diarrhoea - sign of stress
○ When frightened by a loud noise monkeys clung to the towel mother
○ In the larger cage conditions, monkeys with the towel mother explored more and visited their mother
more
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