Active learning ideas
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.
Activity 01
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.
What does imprinting tell us about the critical period for attachment?
Activity 02
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.
How did Harlow's monkeys demonstrate the importance of contact comfort?
Activity 03
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.
To what extent can animal studies inform our understanding of human behaviour?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Harlow's monkeys preferred the wire mother because she had food.
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.
Imprinting is the same as human attachment.
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.
Methods used in this brief
Caregiver-Infant Interactions
An introduction to the development of attachment, focusing on reciprocity and interactional synchrony. Students will review Schaffer and Emerson's stages of attachment.
8 methodologies
Types of Attachment
Exploring Ainsworth's Strange Situation and the resulting classifications of secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant attachment. Students will also look at cultural variations in attachment types.
8 methodologies
Deprivation and Institutionalisation
Analysing Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation and the effects of institutionalisation, drawing heavily on the Romanian orphan studies.
8 methodologies