AQA Psychology for A Level Year 1 & AS: Revision Guide 2nd Edition

Animal studies of attachment Apply it t Apply it A film called Winged Migration was made using Canada geese (and other bird species). Human handlers wore high-visibility jackets and made goose-like honking noises. The goslings followed them around almost immediately after they hatched. Use Lorenz’s research to explain why the goslings behaved in this way. 1. Describe the findings and procedures of one animal study of attachment. (6 marks) 2. Outline how Lorenz and Harlow studied attachment using animals. (6 marks) 3. Briefly evaluate either Lorenz’s or Harlow’s animal studies of attachment. (4 marks) 4. Outline and evaluate two animal studies of attachment. (12 marks AS, 16 marks AL) Knowledge Check Well hello, lover… One strength is support for the concept of imprinting. Regolin and Vallortigara (1995) exposed chicks to simple shape- combinations that moved. When shown a range of moving shapes the chicks followed these in preference to other shapes. This suggests that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object. One limitation is generalising from birds to humans. The mammalian attachment system is quite different from imprinting in birds. For example, mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to their young. This means that it may not be appropriate to generalise Lorenz’s ideas about imprinting to humans. Evaluation extra: Applications to human behaviour. The concept of imprinting can explain some human behaviour. For example ‘baby duck syndrome’, in which computer users become attached to their rst operating system. This means that imprinting is a meaningful process in humans as well as birds. One strength is that Harlow's research has real-world value. It has helped social workers understand risk factors in child abuse and thus intervene to prevent it (Howe 1998). We also now understand the importance of attachment gures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes. This means that Harlow’s research has bene tted both animals and humans. One limitation is generalising from monkeys to humans. Monkeys are clearly more similar to humans than Lorenz’s geese, and all mammals share some similarities in their attachment systems. However they are not human and in some ways the human mind and behaviour are much more complex. This means that it may not be appropriate to generalise Harlow’s ndings to humans. Evaluation extra: Ethical issues. Harlow’s procedures caused severe long- term distress to his monkey participants, though the research led to useful applications. However, his ndings and conclusions have important theoretical and practical applications. This suggests that, in spite of its bene ts, Harlow’s research perhaps should not have been carried out. Rhesus monkeys. 55 AO3 Evaluation