Written by Elif Gulce Batgi
Infants are born with biological needs which cause them to develop attachments, affection, and emotional bonds in the first few months of their life (1). When the need is met, the infant develops secure attachment, but when it isn’t, it develops an attachment disorder. Harry Harlow was one of the first psychologists to scientifically investigate the nature of human love and affection.
He conducted his experiment which was going to be one of the most famous experiments in the history of psychology in the 1950s on maternal deprivation in rhesus monkeys (2). Two concepts were discussed during the experiment: developing attachment as a result of meeting the needs of the infant, and the importance of comfort, companionship, and love in promoting healthy development (3). Many existing theories of love centered on the idea of the earliest attachment between mother and child merely means obtaining food, relieving thirst, and avoiding pain in the child (4). However, Harlow believed that this explanation of mother-child attachments was inadequate.
In the experiment rhesus monkeys were expected to decide between two “mothers”. Monkeys were taken away from their birth-giving mothers after a few hours they were born. He constructed two surrogate “mothers”. One of them was made of metal and had an artificial nipple that monkeys can drink milk from and the other one was covered in soft, fluffy material but doesn’t feed monkeys (1). The first surrogate gives food, but no comfort; whereas the second one gives comfort, but no food. Surprisingly monkeys spent most of their time with non-feeding cloth mothers instead of cold wire mothers (5). After Harlow made a loud noise monkeys were hugging the cloth mother instead of the cold wire one which met their primary need, food (1).
Harlow also studied the reactions of monkeys when there is no fluffy mother figure or no mother at all. The outcomes were extremely aggressive. He posited that infants with metal surrogates suffered from psychological disturbances, which also caused digestive problems (1). Rhesus infants placed into cages without surrogates showed fearful behavior just like they do when they are put in a stranger environment. Infants raised with surrogates were more prone to explore and be curious compared to infants without surrogates.
His experiment shows us that love is vital for normal childhood development (4). He also revealed the long-term devastation caused by deprivation may lead children to profound psychological and emotional distress and even death (4). The role of the caregiver is not limited to meeting the primary needs of infants. Primary needs are creatures’ survival, such as food or water, but Harlow points out another drive: contact comfort, which the fluffy surrogate satisfied (1). From Harlow’s experiment we can see that besides the satisfaction of love and comfort, it offered a secure, comforting base from which infants felt confident enough to explore unfamiliar environments and objects and to cope with scary sounds (1).
References:
Nortje, A. (2022, May 8). Harlow's monkey experiments: 3 findings about attachment. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/harlow-experiment/.
Adoption history: Harry Harlow, monkey love experiments. (2012, February 24). https://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/studies/HarlowMLE.htm.
Harlow’s classic studies revealed the importance of maternal contact. (n.d.). Association for Psychological Science - APS. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/harlows-classic-studies-revealed-the-importance-of-maternal-contact.html.
How Harry Harlow's research on love shaped how we treat children today. (2007, November 15). Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/harry-harlow-and-the-nature-of-love-2795255.
The nature of love: Harlow, Bowlby and Bettelheim on affectionless mothers. (n.d.). PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7433398/.
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