Animal studies of attachment -A-Level Psychology
Animal studies of attachment
Imprinting -an innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time in development(first few hours after birth/hatching).If it doesn’t happen at this time it probably will not happen.
Animal studies-studies carried out on non-human animal species ,either for ethical or practical reasons(practical because animals breed faster and researchers are interested in seeing results in many generations of animals).
Lorenz’s research(1935):
Procedure-Lorenz took a clutch of gosling eggs.Then divided them into two groups.One group were left with their natural mother and the other group was kept in an incubator.When the incubator eggs hatched the first living thing they saw was Lorenz and soon began to follow him around.To test the effect of imprinting ,Lorenz marked the two groups to distinguish them and placed them together. Both Lorenz and the natural mother were present.
Findings-The incubator group followed Lorenz and the other group followed the mother goose.Lorenz’s group showed no recognition of the mother goose.Lorenz noticed that imprinting occurs at an early critical period and if the animal isn’t presented with a moving object during this time then the animal will not imprint.Imprinting is a process similar to attachment in which the animal develops a special relationship with a caregiver.Lorenz observed that imprinting to humans doesn’t occur for all species and different species have different lengths of the critical period.
Long-lasting effects-Lorenz suggested that imprinting is irreversible and long lasting.He noticed that imprinting had an effect on later mate preferences and that animals choose to mate with the same kind of object upon which they were imprinted.
Harlow’s research(1959):
Procedure-Harlow created two wire mothers each with a different head.One wire mother additionally was wrapped in soft cloth.8 infant monkeys were studied for 165 days.The wire mother had a food dispenser,the cloth one did not supply food.The time each infant monkey spent with the two different mothers was recorded.Also,their responses to other objects were observed.
Findings-All 8 monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth covered mother whether or not it has the feeding bottle.The monkeys fed by the wire mother only spent a short time with it to get the milk.When frightened,all monkeys clung on to the cloth covered mother.These findings suggest that infants do not develop attachment to the person who feeds them but to the person offering contact comfort.
Long-lasting effects-Harlow continued to study these monkeys and noted the consequences of their early attachment experiences.He found that the motherless monkeys were socially abnormal and neglected their young as adults.Harlow also found that there were critical periods for these effects.If the motherless monkeys spent time with their monkey peers they seemed to recover only if it was before they were 3 months old.
Evaluation:
Generalisability to humans-Lorenz’s findings on birds aren’t necessarily applicable to humans as the mammalian attachment system differs.Mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to young than do birds and are still able to form attachments at most ages.
Research support on imprinting-Guiton(1996) demonstrated that leghorn chicks that were exposed to a yellow glove that fed them,became imprinted on the gloves.This showed that animals aren’t born with a predisposition to imprint on a specific object but probably on any moving object present during the critical period.
Ethical issues-As the monkeys were considered to be similar enough to humans to generalise the findings, it can be said that their suffering was presumably quite human-like. There were lasting emotional effects as the monkeys found it difficult to form relationships with their peers.However the experiment can be Justified in terms of the significant effect it had on understanding the process of attachment., and the study has helped with better care for human infants.
Confounding variable-the two stimulus objects varied in more ways than the soft cloth.The two heads were also different,so the monkeys may have preferred the more better looking monkey.This means the study lacks internal validity.
Attachment theory is a psychological theory that explains how infants form emotional bonds with their caregivers, and how these early experiences shape their later relationships and behavior. It was first proposed by John Bowlby, who believed that the bond between a caregiver and an infant is a crucial factor in the child’s development and emotional well-being.
Researchers study animal attachment because it allows them to observe the development of attachment behaviors in a controlled environment. Animal studies can also provide insight into the biological and evolutionary basis of attachment, and how it may have developed in humans.
Imprinting is a form of learning that occurs during a critical period in an animal’s development, in which they become attached to the first moving object they see. This phenomenon was first studied by Konrad Lorenz, who observed that newly hatched geese would follow the first moving object they saw, even if it was not their mother.
The Strange Situation is a laboratory procedure used to assess the quality of attachment between an infant and their caregiver. It involves a series of separations and reunions between the infant and their caregiver, while the infant’s behavior is observed through a one-way mirror. The Strange Situation was developed by Mary Ainsworth, who identified three main attachment styles: secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant.
Harry Harlow’s monkey studies showed that infant monkeys preferred a soft, cloth surrogate mother over a wire surrogate mother that provided food. This suggested that attachment is not solely based on the satisfaction of physiological needs, but also on the need for comfort and contact comfort. The study also showed that early deprivation of social contact had negative effects on the monkeys’ social and emotional development.
Bowlby’s theory of attachment proposed that infants are biologically predisposed to form emotional bonds with their primary caregivers, as these bonds provide protection and security. Bowlby believed that attachment behavior serves an evolutionary function, as it increases the infant’s chances of survival.
Social learning theory is a psychological theory that explains how behavior is learned through observation and imitation of others. It was first proposed by Albert Bandura, who believed that behavior is shaped by three key factors: environmental cues, cognitive processes, and personal experiences.
Animal studies of attachment can provide insight into the biological and evolutionary basis of attachment, and how it may have developed in humans. However, it is important to remember that animal studies cannot fully capture the complexity of human attachment, as humans have unique cognitive, social, and cultural factors that shape their attachment behavior.
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