By: Chloe Hromockyj and Dylan Brown

BackgroundHarry Harlow – Experiences as a child and your attachment to your motherinfluence future abilities to love in life.

Discovery that love and affection are needs just as important as hunger and thirst.

Rhesus monkeys used, previous studies infant monkeys became very attached to cloth pads

Methodcloth mother (contact comfort) wire mother

Study 1: 8 monkeys randomly assigned to wire mother group and cloth mother groupHow much time spent with each mother

Study 2: Placed fearful object in all cagesSee how monkeys with wire and cloth mothers would respond

Method Study 3: (open field test)

placing young monkeys in unfamiliar rooms with objects either wire mother, cloth mother or no mother To test how monkeys would adapt and explore with or without mother present

Study 4: After 6 months separated monkeys from mothers and then reunitedsee whether attachment would continue after separation

Results & Conclusion Experiment 1: Monkeys more

attached to cloth mother

Experiment 2: When frightened, monkeys would run to cloth mother for comfort

Experiment 3: Explore but return to mother for a source of security, without mother would cry and suck thumb

Experiment 4: Once reunited, rushed to the mother, clung and played but did not explore

Historical SignificanceAlthough has been criticized ethically, has been

very significant

Proven that biological mother isn't the only one who can provide love (adoptive aren't, father, babysitter, etc.)

Shows why child abuse victims often still love their abuser

Contact comfort above everything else

Controversy & Recent ApplicationsAnimal cruelty, monkeys in harmful

situationsDo humans share the same love

processes as monkeys?

(Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2003) connection between social isolation and physical health with lonely adults

(Feldman & Eidelman, 1998) importance of skin to skin contact in development of premature babies

Pictures / Videohttp://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Harlow/love.ht

m

http://youtu.be/CU9jKlNK1Qc