2. Animal Studies of Attachment

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about two animal studies on attachment which support Bowlby’s theory that the mother-child relationship plays a pivotal role in the child’s development. First, we look at Harry Harlow’s research with rhesus monkeys which showed that the infant’s attachment relationship with the mother serves an important social purpose, rather than having a purely nutritional basis. We then move on to Konrad Lorenz’s imprinting theory and his research with geese which supports Bowlby’s theory that both human and non-human animals have an innate instinct to seek closeness to a caregiver.

Course

In this course, Dr Emily Burdett (University of Nottingham) discusses psychological theories of attachment, the close emotional bond formed between two individuals. We begin, in module one, by thinking about John Bowlby’s research on the mother-infant relationship before moving on, in module two, to discussing two studies of attachment in non-human animals by Harry Harlow and Konrad Lorenz. Module three focuses on Mary Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’ experiment as a way of measuring the quality of attachment between an infant and a caregiver. Next, we look at two Romanian orphan studies and think about how the lack of strong attachment relationships in early life affects a child’s later development. Finally, in module five, we consider the influence of early attachment on later relationships, including with a romantic partner and as a parent.

Lecturer

Dr Emily Burdett is interested in how culture and cognition influence our understanding of the world around us. Her research has particularly explored the cognitive and social processes that influence the evolution of 'culture.' Her work uses an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and experimental approach to explore questions about how children and adults form concepts, how they learn and who they learn from, and when they innovate and become creative. These questions motivate current projects exploring the origin and transmission of culture, the cultural and cognitive underpinnings of religion and morality, and the motivations for learning and creativity.