Describe and explain the role of animal studies in attachment, provide an example
- A01: Harlow’s Rhesus monkeys (1958). Harlow reared infant monkeys in isolation away from their mothers, causing privation, and put them in cages with two surrogate mothers. One was wire and a bottle of milk, for feeding, the other was wire and soft material, for comfort. They found that infants spent on average more time with the comfort mother even though they received no food, and they would explore their environment more with this mother present. This suggests that attachment is a social bond, more important than only food, and thus maternal deprivation can cause emotional problems. - A02: This shows important insight into attachment behaviour in an experiment that could not be performed on humans for ethical reasons, a major strength of animal research. However, it may not be generalisable, as there are many social and behavioural differences between monkeys and humans. This weakens the applicability of the findings of animal research. Further, Harlow’s experiment may be unethical, as the monkeys experienced emotional harm
