Lecture on Animal Research in Psychology and Human Attachment

Introduction to Animal Behavior Research

• Animal behavior research is used to understand human behavior.
• Ethical concerns and different mental experiences between animals and humans.
• Focus on attachment studies by two researchers: Konrad Lorenz and Henry Harlow.

Konrad Lorenz's Research on Imprinting

• Studied imprinting in birds, specifically graylag geese.
• Experiment:
  • Divided a clutch of goose eggs into two groups: half hatched with a biological mother, half in an incubator with Lorenz as the first moving object they saw.
  • Findings:
    • Goslings imprinted on the first moving object seen after hatching.
    • Imprinting has a critical period of around 32 hours.
• Significance:
  • Evidence of a biological aspect to attachment in birds.
  • Imprinting based on vision.

Henry Harlow's Research on Attachment

• Tested the "cupboard love" theory of attachment.
• Experiment with rhesus monkeys:
  • Infant monkeys removed from mothers and placed with two surrogate mothers (wire with food vs. cloth without food).
  • Monkeys preferred the cloth mother for comfort.
  • When frightened, monkeys ran to the cloth mother.
• Findings:
  • Rejected the idea that attachment is solely about feeding.
  • Demonstrated the need for physical contact.
  • Monkeys experienced long-term social issues due to maternal deprivation.

Application of Animal Studies to Human Attachment

• Evaluating applicability to humans:
  • Biological differences between animals and humans.
  • Considerations for applying findings from animal studies.
• John Bowlby’s theory:
  • Humans have an innate need for comfort from their mothers.
  • Monotropic relationship and critical period for forming attachments.
  • Human critical period suggested by Bowlby is 6 to 30 months, but later studies indicate a sensitive period.

Practical Implications and Ethical Considerations

• Lorenz and Harlow’s research informed child care practices.
  • Immediate physical contact between mother and baby encouraged.
  • Social Services’ involvement in cases of infant neglect.
• Ethical concerns:
  • Harlow’s experiments were unethical due to animal suffering.
  • Ethical evaluations do not affect the validity of data.
  • Debate on whether such research is justified based on its impact on policies and practices.

Conclusion

• Harlow’s and Lorenz’s research have greatly influenced understanding of attachment and child care.
• Ethical debates highlight the complexity of animal research in psychology.

Additional Resources and Acknowledgements

• Mention of Psych Boost app and Patreon support for additional learning resources.