Knowledge Tree
Harry Harlow
Facts (28)
Sources
Attachment Theory, Bowlby's Stages & Attachment Styles positivepsychology.com Nov 28, 2024 11 facts
accountIn Harry Harlow's experiments, infant rhesus monkeys were given a choice between a wire surrogate mother that provided food and a soft cloth surrogate mother that provided comfort but no food; the monkeys consistently chose the cloth mother.
claimHarry Harlow's experiments are considered controversial and disturbing today, but they established that attachment involves both survival and emotional wellbeing.
accountHarry Harlow conducted experiments with rhesus monkeys in the 1950s that provided early insight into the importance of emotional attachment.
referenceHarry Harlow and Robert Zimmermann published a study in 1959 titled 'Affectional response in the infant monkey: Orphaned baby monkeys develop a strong and persistent attachment to inanimate surrogate mothers' in the journal Science, demonstrating that orphaned baby monkeys develop strong attachments to inanimate surrogate mothers.
claimRosmalen, Luijk, and Horst (2022) analyzed Harry Harlow's research on depression in monkeys and humans, specifically referencing the 'pit of despair' experiments.
accountHarry Harlow conducted experiments with rhesus monkeys in the 1950s to investigate the importance of emotional attachment.
referenceRosmalen, Luijk, and Horst published 'Harry Harlow’s pit of despair: Depression in monkeys and men' in 2022, which examines the history of Harry Harlow's research on depression in monkeys.
claimHarry Harlow's experiments with rhesus monkeys laid the groundwork for understanding that attachment is not solely about survival but also about emotional wellbeing.
accountIn Harry Harlow's experiments, infant monkeys were given a choice between a wire surrogate mother that provided food and a soft cloth surrogate mother that provided comfort. The monkeys consistently chose the comforting cloth mother over the wire mother, demonstrating that comfort and emotional closeness were more important to developing attachment than the satisfaction of basic physiological needs like hunger.
claimHarry Harlow's experiments with rhesus monkeys demonstrated that comfort and emotional closeness are more important to developing attachment than the satisfaction of basic physiological needs like hunger.
accountIn the 1950s, psychologist Harry Harlow conducted experiments with rhesus monkeys to investigate the importance of emotional attachment. Infant monkeys were given a choice between a wire surrogate mother that provided food and a soft cloth surrogate mother that provided comfort but no food. The monkeys consistently chose the comforting cloth mother, demonstrating that comfort and emotional closeness were more important to developing attachment than the satisfaction of basic physiological needs like hunger.
Emotional Development and Attachment | Lifespan Development courses.lumenlearning.com 6 facts
claimMichael Baker authored a study titled 'Harlow's Studies on Dependency in Monkeys' which examines dependency behaviors.
claimHarry Harlow's studies of monkeys are widely considered to be unethical and cruel by modern standards because they were performed before modern ethics guidelines were established.
claimHarry Harlow, John Bowlby, and Mary Ainsworth conducted studies on how parent and infant attachment bonds form, how neglect affects these bonds, and what accounts for attachment differences.
claimPrior to the 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the medical and scientific communities generally believed that infants become attached to the people who provide their nourishment.
referenceMichael Baker authored a video titled 'Harlow's Studies on Dependency in Monkeys' which examines Harry Harlow's research on attachment.
claimHarry Harlow concluded in 1958 that feelings of comfort and security, rather than just nourishment, are the critical components of maternal-infant bonding and healthy psychosocial development.
Bowlby's Attachment Theory: 4 Styles & Classroom Impact structural-learning.com Jun 30, 2023 5 facts
claimHarry Harlow's findings contradicted the behaviorist 'cupboard love' theory, which posited that infants attach to mothers primarily because mothers provide food.
referenceJohn Bowlby utilized ethology, the study of animal behavior in natural settings, to build his attachment framework, specifically drawing on Konrad Lorenz's work on imprinting in greylag geese and Harry Harlow's experiments with rhesus monkeys.
measurementIn Harry Harlow's 1958 experiments, infant rhesus monkeys preferred the cloth-covered surrogate mother, spending up to 18 hours per day clinging to it and retreating to it when frightened, while visiting the wire surrogate only briefly to feed.
claimHarry Harlow demonstrated that contact comfort, defined as the tactile security of being held, is the primary driver of attachment.
claimHarry Harlow's 1958 rhesus monkey experiments provided evidence that attachment is driven by emotional security rather than feeding, supporting John Bowlby's theory.
John Bowlby's Attachment Theory - Simply Psychology simplypsychology.org Apr 20, 2025 5 facts
claimHarry Harlow demonstrated that monkeys reared in isolation from their mothers suffered from emotional and social problems in older age, including aggression and difficulties interacting with other monkeys, due to a failure to form an attachment (privation).
claimJohn Bowlby's theory of Maternal Deprivation is supported by Harry Harlow's 1958 research with monkeys.
claimHarry Harlow demonstrated that rhesus monkeys reared in isolation from their mothers suffered from emotional and social problems in older age, including aggression and difficulties interacting with other monkeys, because they never formed an attachment.
claimJohn Bowlby's theory of Maternal Deprivation is supported by Harry Harlow's 1958 research with monkeys.
referenceHarry Harlow and Robert Zimmermann published research on attachment in 1958.
Attachment Theory In Psychology Explained simplypsychology.org May 20, 2025 1 fact
referenceHarry Harlow and Robert Zimmermann published 'The development of affective responsiveness in infant monkeys' in 1958, which studied the development of affection in primates.