Lecture Notes: Animal Studies of Attachment

Overview

• Topic: Animal studies of attachment
• Key Researchers: Conrad Lorenz and Harry Harlow
• Purpose: Understanding the importance of forming early attachments and its consequences

Conrad Lorenz's Research

Imprinting in Geese

• Definition: Imprinting is an instinctive process where birds form attachments to the first moving object they see post-hatching.
• Experiment:
  • Divided gray-like goose eggs into two groups:
    • Control group: Hatched naturally with their mother.
    • Experimental group: Hatched in an incubator, first seeing Lorenz.
  • Findings:
    • Naturally hatched goslings followed their mother.
    • Incubated goslings followed Lorenz.
    • Imprinting is irreversible.

Key Takeaways

• Instinctive Survival Component: Imprinting is natural, not learned, and provides survival advantages.
• Critical Period: Imprinting occurs within a specific timeframe (12-17 hours, up to 30 hours max).

Harry Harlow's Research

Rhesus Monkey Studies

• Experiment Setup:
  • Removed monkeys from mothers at birth.
  • Provided two surrogate mothers:
    • Cloth Mother: Provided comfort.
    • Wire Mother: Provided food.
  • Findings: Monkeys preferred the cloth mother despite the wire mother providing food.

Fear and Attachment

• Experiment:
  • Presented fear stimuli to monkeys.
  • Monkeys sought comfort from the cloth mother.

Long-Term Effects

• Motherless Mothers:
  • Monkeys raised without mothers often became inadequate parents.
  • Demonstrated the importance of early attachments for social skills.

Key Findings

• Contact Comfort: More important than food for attachment.
• Secure Base: Essential for exploration and safety.
• Long-term Impacts: Lack of attachment leads to social deficits.
• Critical Period: Attachment needed by 90 days.

Implications and Criticisms

Theories of Attachment

• Bolby's Monotropic Theory:
  • Suggests attachments are instinctual and adaptive.
  • Emphasizes a critical period, supported by Lorenz's and Harlow's findings.
• Learning Theory (Behaviorism):
  • Asserts attachments are learned through food provision.
  • Challenged by Harlow's findings favoring contact comfort.

Practical Application

• Insight into early neglect's impact on future relationships.
• Important for social workers to identify and intervene in cases of poor attachment.

Limitations of Animal Studies

• Generalization Issues:
  • Difficulty in applying findings to human emotional connections.
  • Critical vs. Sensitive periods in humans.

Ethical Considerations

• Criticism:
  • Harlow's methods (isolation, fear induction) deemed unethical.
  • Importance of linking ethical critiques to human attachment understanding.

Further Reading

• Book: Opening Skinner's Box - Chapter 6 explores Harlow's work further.

Upcoming Topics

• Next Videos:
  • Learning Theory
  • Bolby's Monotropic Theory
  • Using animal study knowledge in these theories