Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

Animal Studies of Attachment - Coggle Diagram

- - - - observed birds that imprinted on a human would often later display courtship behaviour towards human
        
        described a peacock that had been reared in the reptile house of a zoo (first moving object seen were giant tortoises)
        
        as an adult - bird would only direct courtship towards giant tortoises
        
        Lorenz concluded that this meant the peacock had undergone sexual imprinting
- - - - existence of support for concept of imprinting
        
        Regolin & Vallortigara (1995) supports - chicks exposed to simple shape combination that moved - range of shape combinations were then moved in front of them % they followed originally most closely
        
        supports view that young animals are born with innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object present in critical window of development (as predicted by Lorenz)
  - - - ability to generalise findings & conclusions from birds to humans
        
        mammalian attachment system is different & more complex than birds
        
        e.g. mammals attachment is a 2-way process (not just young getting attached - also mothers show emotional attachment)
        
        means its probably not appropriate to generalise Lorenz's ideas to humans
  - - - although human attachment is different from birds - have been attempts to use the idea that some kind of 'imprinting' explains human behaviour
        
        e.g. Seebach (200%) suggested computer users exhibit 'baby duck syndrome'
        
        attachment formed to 1st computer operating system leading them to reject others
- - - - important real-world application
        
        e.g. helped social workers & clinical psychologists understand:
        
        lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in a child's development - allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes (Howe 1998)
        -importance of attachment for baby monkeys in zoo & breeding programs in the wild
        
        means value of Harlow's research is not just theoretical but also practical
  - - - ability to generalise findings from monkeys to humans
        
        Rhesus monkeys more similar to humans than Lorenz's birds & all mammals share some common attachment behaviours
        
        however - human behaviour is still more complex than that of monkeys
        
        means it may not be appropriate to generalise Harlow's findings to humans
  - - - caused severe & long-term distress to monkeys
        
        but his findings & conclusions have important theoretical & practical approaches