Psychology · Year 12 · Attachment · 3.º Período

Animal Studies of Attachment

Reviewing the foundational animal research by Lorenz and Harlow. Students will debate the ethical implications and the generalisability of these findings to human attachment.

TL;DR:Animal studies have provided profound, if controversial, insights into the nature of attachment. Students examine Lorenz's work on imprinting in geese and Harlow's famous experiments with rhesus monkeys. These studies challenged the prevailing 'cupboard love' theory, the idea that infants only attach to those who feed them, and highlighted the critical importance of contact comfort and early social experience.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• AQA 4.1.3.3 Animal studies of attachment
• AQA 4.1.3.4 Learning theory and Bowlby's monotropic theory

About This Topic

Animal studies have provided profound, if controversial, insights into the nature of attachment. Students examine Lorenz's work on imprinting in geese and Harlow's famous experiments with rhesus monkeys. These studies challenged the prevailing 'cupboard love' theory, the idea that infants only attach to those who feed them, and highlighted the critical importance of contact comfort and early social experience.

This topic requires students to grapple with the ethics of animal research and the validity of extrapolating animal findings to humans. It also introduces Bowlby's monotropic theory, which was heavily influenced by these animal observations. Understanding this evolutionary perspective helps students see attachment as a survival mechanism.

Students grasp this concept faster through structured discussion and peer explanation where they can debate the ethical 'cost-benefit' analysis of Harlow's research.

Key Questions

1. What does imprinting tell us about the critical period for attachment?
2. How did Harlow's monkeys demonstrate the importance of contact comfort?
3. To what extent can animal studies inform our understanding of human behaviour?

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Harlow's monkeys preferred the wire mother because she had food.

What to Teach Instead

This is the exact opposite of the findings. Harlow showed that monkeys spent significantly more time with the cloth mother, even if the wire mother provided food. Re-examining the 'time spent' graphs helps students see that contact comfort is the primary driver.

Common Misconception

Imprinting is the same as human attachment.

What to Teach Instead

Clarify that imprinting is an instantaneous, survival-based bond in birds, whereas human attachment is a much slower, more complex emotional process. Comparing the timelines of geese versus humans helps students see the difference in complexity.

Active Learning Ideas

Formal Debate

The Ethics of Harlow

Divide the class into 'Pro-Research' and 'Animal Rights' teams. They must debate whether the suffering of Harlow's monkeys was justified by the knowledge gained about the importance of emotional care for human infants.

45 min·Small Groups

Simulation Game

The Imprinting Process

Use a simple 'follow the leader' activity to demonstrate the concept of a critical period. Discuss how Lorenz's geese followed the first moving object they saw and why this was an evolutionary advantage for survival.

20 min·Whole Class

Think-Pair-Share

Generalising to Humans

Students list the similarities and differences between rhesus monkeys and human infants. They then discuss in pairs why we must be cautious when applying Harlow's findings to human attachment policy.

25 min·Pairs

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Lorenz discover about imprinting?

Lorenz found that goslings would follow the first moving object they saw during a 'critical period' shortly after hatching. This bond was irreversible and influenced their later mating preferences, suggesting that early social experiences have long-term effects on animal behaviour.

Why was Harlow's research so important for psychology?

Harlow's research proved that 'contact comfort' (physical warmth and softness) was more important for attachment than food. This debunked the learning theory of attachment and led to a major shift in how hospitals and orphanages cared for children, prioritising emotional needs.

What is Bowlby's monotropic theory?

Bowlby's theory suggests that humans have an innate, evolutionary drive to form one special attachment (monotropy) which acts as an internal working model for all future relationships. He believed there is a critical period for this bond to form, usually within the first two years.

How can active learning help students understand animal studies?

Active learning, especially through structured debates on ethics, forces students to look beyond the data and consider the human (and animal) cost of science. By evaluating the 'generalisability' of these studies in small groups, students develop the critical thinking skills needed to assess how well animal models actually represent complex human emotions.