Compare and Contrast Research by Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth on Understanding Attachment.
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- Date Submitted: 04/16/2013 07:09 AM
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Attachment is seen not just as a connection between two people or animals, but as a strong bond that requires regular contact with the other person. In many cases, a person or animal may experience distress if separated from that person for periods of time. The term attachment is used to describe many different purposes among both humans and animals. With infants and children for example, attachment helps keep children close to their caregivers, in many cases this is generally the birth mother. Both Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow are two of the major contributors to our understanding of attachment. They used very different techniques when carrying out their research; however both had the same aim, to understand the mechanism of attachment. Although the studies themselves were very different, Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth both encountered similarities within their research. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting their work as well as looking at the similarities and differences between their work and the outcomes.
Harry Harlow was an American psychologist who conducted maternal-separation and social isolation experiments on rhesus monkeys. He was investigating whether infants naturally bonded with their mother because of ‘cupboard love’, a term used to describe the caregiver who provides food, or if they naturally became attached to them because they were soft, warm and comforting. He was interested in the importance of care-giving and companionship developed with babies and young children with their caregivers. Harlow’s experiments were often seen as controversial, for example, one experiment included rearing infant rhesus macaques monkeys in isolation chambers for up to 24 months, after which many were seen to be severely disturbed. In his experiments, Harlow discovered that the baby monkeys became attached to the soft sanitary pads used in their cages and during daily cage cleaning they would protest when these pads were removed. It was this...
Harry Harlow was an American psychologist who conducted maternal-separation and social isolation experiments on rhesus monkeys. He was investigating whether infants naturally bonded with their mother because of ‘cupboard love’, a term used to describe the caregiver who provides food, or if they naturally became attached to them because they were soft, warm and comforting. He was interested in the importance of care-giving and companionship developed with babies and young children with their caregivers. Harlow’s experiments were often seen as controversial, for example, one experiment included rearing infant rhesus macaques monkeys in isolation chambers for up to 24 months, after which many were seen to be severely disturbed. In his experiments, Harlow discovered that the baby monkeys became attached to the soft sanitary pads used in their cages and during daily cage cleaning they would protest when these pads were removed. It was this...