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ANIMAL STUDIES IN ATTACHMENT - LORENZ + HARLOW - Coggle Diagram
ANIMAL STUDIES IN ATTACHMENT - LORENZ + HARLOW
Lorenz - geese
1/2 hatched with mother in their natural environment (control group) + the other 1/2 hatched with Lorenz in an incubator (incubator group)
Findings - incubator group followed Lorenz + control group followed their mother
Conducted an experiment where he randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs
When the two groups were mixed - incubator group followed Lorenz - aka
imprinting
Bird species attach to + follow the first moving thing they see which can happen within a few hours - aka
critical period
which is irreversible once established
Lorenz also found evidence of sexual imprinting - means birds who imprinted on humans would later in life only attempt to mate with humans
Lorenz findings - show us that imprinting is similar to attachment + supports the theory that attachment is innate + humans are biologically pre-programmed to form a bond with a caregiver
REAL WORLD APPLICATION
RWA, e.g. imprinting migratory birds to microlight aircrafts to teach them migratory flight paths
This has been used to reintroduce birds to where they have become extinct from + also highlights the power of imprinting
ETHICAL ISSUES - MONKEYS SUFFERED GREATLY
Monkeys experienced long lasting effects
E.g. poor relationships with peers
This raises the question whether it should have been done with monkeys at all
GUILTON'S STUDY - SUGGESTED IMPRINTING ISN'T AS PERMANENT AS LORENZ BELIEVED
This study involved chickens attaching to yellow rubber gloves + tried to mate with them as adults
At first glance. this supports the theory as it demonstrates the power of imprinting, however, with experience they believe they learned to prefer mating with chickens - which suggests that imprinting is not as permanent as Lorenz believed
Harlow - monkeys
Condition 1
= milk bottle was with the cloth mother
Condition 2
- milk bottle was with the plain wire mother
They found that all 8 rhesus monkeys spent most time with the cloth mother whether or not it had the feeding bottle
Those who fed from the plain wire mother only spent a short amount of time getting the milk + returned to the cloth mother
When frightened - all monkeys clung to the cloth mother which shows that comfort +contact are most important in developing attachment
Animal study which focuses on demonstrating that attachment was not based on the feeding bond between mother + infant
Experiment was conducted on 8 Rhesus monkeys + 2 wire mothers in each cage
One mother = cloth covered mother
One mother = plain wire mother
BETTER HUMAN CARE
However the benefits may outweigh the costs to the animals involved as it has had a significant effect on our understanding of the process of attachment + has been used to offer better human care to infants
We now know the importance of early experiences on long-term development - it is vital that all children's needs are catered for; taking care of a child's physical needs alone is not sufficient