Evaluation of Lorenz's Research

The Lorenz geese study evaluation reveals both strengths and weaknesses that have shaped our understanding of attachment processes.

Strengths:

1. Contribution to Psychology: Lorenz's work was instrumental in developing well-recognized theories of attachment, influencing modern child care practices.

Highlight: The study suggested that attachment formation is under biological control and occurs within a specific timeframe, a concept that has been highly influential in developmental psychology.

2. Pioneering Research: Lorenz's experiments opened up new avenues for studying early bonding behaviors in animals and humans.

Weaknesses:

1. Limited Generalizability: The study's focus on geese raises questions about its applicability to human attachment processes.

Quote: "This is a weakness because humans and animals are physiologically different. The way a human forms an attachment with their primary caregiver could be different to how a goose does it, therefore the findings cannot be generalised."

2. Overestimation of Sexual Imprinting Effects: Later research challenged Lorenz's conclusions about the permanence of sexual imprinting.

Example: Gulton et al. found that chickens imprinted on yellow washing gloves eventually learned to mate with other chickens, contradicting Lorenz's belief in the permanence of imprinting effects on courtship behavior.

These evaluations highlight the complex nature of attachment research and the ongoing debate about the applicability of animal studies to human behavior.

Harlow's Research on Contact Comfort

Harry Harlow's monkey experiment focused on the importance of contact comfort in attachment formation, challenging prevailing theories that emphasized food as the primary factor in mother-infant bonding.

Procedure: Harlow raised 16 baby rhesus monkeys with two wire model 'mothers':

1. A plain wire mother that dispensed milk
2. A cloth-covered mother that did not provide food

Highlight: This experimental design allowed Harlow to separate the factors of food provision and physical comfort in attachment formation.

Findings: The baby monkeys consistently chose to cling to the cloth-covered mother, even when it didn't provide food. They also sought comfort from the cloth mother when frightened.

Quote: "The baby monkeys cuddled with cloth-covered mother in preference to the other and sought comfort from it when frightened regardless of which mother dispensed milk."

This groundbreaking result demonstrated that contact comfort was more crucial for attachment than food provision, challenging the dominant behaviorist theories of the time.

Long-term Consequences: Harlow's team also studied the effects of maternal deprivation on the monkeys as they grew into adulthood. Both groups of monkeys raised with artificial mothers experienced severe social and behavioral problems.

Highlight: Monkeys raised with plain wire mothers showed the most dysfunctional behaviors, while those with cloth-covered mothers still failed to develop normal social behaviors.

These findings had profound implications for understanding the importance of early physical contact and nurturing in healthy social and emotional development.

Evaluation of Harlow's Research

Harlow's research on contact comfort in monkeys has been both praised for its insights and criticized for its methods and ethical implications.

Strengths:

1. Real-world Applications: Harlow's work helped psychologists understand the critical role of early bonding experiences in child development.

Highlight: The study demonstrated that a lack of physical comfort and nurturing in early life could be a significant risk factor for later social and emotional problems.

2. Challenge to Prevailing Theories: Harlow's findings contradicted the dominant behaviorist views of his time, which emphasized food as the primary reinforcer in mother-infant bonding.

Weaknesses:

1. Limited Generalizability to Humans: While mammals share some common attachment behaviors, human brains and social behaviors are significantly more complex than those of monkeys.

Quote: "All mammals share some common attachment behaviours. However, the human brain and human behaviour is more complex than that of monkeys. Therefore may not be appropriate to generalise Harlow's findings to humans."

2. Artificial Laboratory Setting: The highly controlled environment of the study may have caused the monkeys to behave in ways that wouldn't occur in natural settings, potentially compromising the ecological validity of the findings.

3. Serious Ethical Concerns: Harlow's experiments caused severe and long-term distress to the monkeys, raising significant ethical issues about the treatment of animals in research.

Quote: "Harlow's research caused severe & long term distress to the monkeys. They were deprived of maternal comfort which lead to severe consequences such as being aggressive and sometimes even killing their offspring."

These evaluations underscore the complex legacy of Harlow's work, balancing its significant contributions to attachment theory with the ethical questions it raises about research methods and animal welfare in scientific studies.

Lorenz's Research on Imprinting

Konrad Lorenz's imprinting experiment laid the groundwork for understanding early attachment behaviors in animals. This study, focusing on geese, revealed crucial insights into the phenomenon of imprinting and its potential implications for attachment theory.

Definition: Imprinting is a rapid learning process by which a newborn animal forms an attachment to the first moving object it sees, typically its mother.

Lorenz's procedure involved dividing a clutch of goose eggs into two groups. One group hatched in a natural environment with their mother, while the experimental group hatched in an incubator with Lorenz as the first moving object they encountered.

Highlight: The experimental group of goslings followed Lorenz, demonstrating that imprinting can occur on non-biological objects or individuals.

Lorenz's findings revealed a critical period for imprinting, suggesting that if attachment doesn't form within this timeframe, it may not occur at all. This discovery had significant implications for understanding the timing of attachment formation in various species.

Example: Lorenz extended his research to investigate sexual imprinting, as demonstrated in a case study involving a peacock imprinting on a tortoise, subsequently directing its courtship behavior towards tortoises rather than its own species.