Animal Studies on Attachment: Lorenz and Harlow

This page summarizes two influential animal studies on attachment: Lorenz's animal study with geese and Harlow's monkey experiment. These studies have significantly shaped our understanding of attachment formation in early development.

Lorenz's Research on Imprinting

Konrad Lorenz conducted a study on geese to investigate the phenomenon of imprinting. His procedure involved dividing a clutch of goose eggs into two groups: one hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment, and the other hatched in an incubator where Lorenz was the first thing they saw.

Definition: Imprinting is an attachment that develops between a young animal and its carer during a critical period.

The findings of Lorenz's study were remarkable:

• The incubator group followed Lorenz, while the control group followed their mother.
• This behavior persisted even when the two groups were mixed.
• The critical period for imprinting was identified as a few hours after hatching.
• If imprinting didn't occur within this time, the chicks didn't attach to a mother figure.

Highlight: Lorenz discovered that the critical period for imprinting in geese was around a few hours after hatching, emphasizing the importance of early experiences in attachment formation.

Lorenz also observed sexual imprinting, where birds who imprinted on humans later displayed courtship behavior towards humans.

Harlow's Research on Contact Comfort

Harry Harlow's famous experiment with infant monkeys explored the importance of contact comfort in attachment formation. The procedure involved rearing 16 baby monkeys with two wire model mothers:

• In one condition, milk was dispensed by the metal wire mother.
• In the second condition, milk was dispensed by the cloth-covered mother.

The findings were groundbreaking:

• Baby monkeys consistently preferred to cuddle the cloth-covered mother.
• They sought comfort from the cloth-covered mother when frightened, regardless of which one dispensed milk.

Conclusion: Contact comfort was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behavior.

Harlow's research also revealed long-term effects of maternal deprivation:

• Monkeys reared with only the metal wire mother were the most dysfunctional.
• Even monkeys reared with the cloth-covered mother didn't develop normal social behavior, showing more aggression and less sociability.
• The critical period for attachment formation in monkeys was identified as within the first 90 days of life.

Evaluation of Animal Attachment Studies

Both studies have significant strengths and limitations:

Strengths:

• Theoretical value: These studies have been influential in developmental psychology.
• Practical applications: Findings have informed childcare practices and animal welfare in zoos.

Limitations:

• Ethical concerns: The animals, especially in Harlow's study, suffered as a result of the experiments.
• Generalizability: Findings from birds and monkeys may not directly apply to human attachment processes.

Example: Social workers now better understand risk factors in child abuse and prevention strategies based on insights from these studies.

In conclusion, while these animal studies have limitations, they have significantly contributed to our understanding of attachment formation and have had lasting impacts on developmental psychology and childcare practices.