Harlow’s Theory: Love Essay

The feeling of delight in is, deep, soft, satisfying. Because of its bosomate and intimate nature it is viewed by some as an inapplicable topic for experimental research. But, some(prenominal) our own perception may be, our assigned mission as psychologists is to analyze all facets of human and animal behavior into their component variables. (scientific American , June 1959) Therefore as far as love or affection is concerned, psychologists have been unsuccessful in this quest. The a few(prenominal) things we know about love dont go beyond simple examination, and the few things we read about it have been written better by poets and novelists. But of greater worry is the truth that psychologists tend to feature way less attention to a impulse which penetrates our entire lives. At least psychologists who write books, not only show no importance in the cause and unfolding of love or affection, but they seem to be blinded of its very existence (scientific American, June 1959 )The exp erimentIn the Wisconsin University lab, Harlow investigated the meaning of love, focusing on the relationships between a bobble and its make. He started by making it clear that the love between an infant and the mother was much of an ruttish feeling quite an than something psychological, suporting the borrowing-friendly theory that connection of carenurturewas a far more determining factor in healthy psychological development than nature. ( get at F. Harlow, 1959) Then he showed how early periods of time are crucial to the capacity of attachment, If the early days or weeks of the infant were lost it would be really hard or change surface hopeless to compensate for the loss of initial excited comfort. The unfavorable period thesis confirmed the idea of assigning infants with adoptive mothers as shortly afterward being born. Harlows Hypothesis gave experimental affirmation for prioritizingpsychological over biological motherhood while the advancing risks of adopting babies b eyond birth. It normalized and pathologized adoption at the alike(p) time. ( Harry F. Harlow, 1959)In his experiment Harlow detached baby monkeys from their mothers hours after being born, later arranged the baby animals to be nurtured by ii kinds of artificial monkey mothers. The first mother, mainly made out of bare wire lock was equipped to dispense milk. The other was a wire mother covered with soft terry cloth to the highest degree like fur. Harlows first examination was that baby monkeys that were tending(p) a choice of artificial mothers pass far more time clinging to the terry cloth, even if they didnt have a milk dispenser. This suggested that infant love was no simple response to the cheer of physiological needs. Attachment was not primarily about hunger or thirst. It could not be reduced to nursing (Harry F. Harlow 1958)After the results Harlow made a few more arrangements in his experiment and made yet another important observation. Harlow tried separating the inf ants into two different variables one group was given only the equip mother while the other was given the mother with the cloth. all the babies drank the same amount of milk and grew at the same rate. Yet the similarities ended at that. The babies who were given a soft, physical contact with their cloth mothers behaved quite differently than babies whose mothers were made out of cold, hard wire. Harlow hypothesized that members of the first group benefitted from a psychological resourceemotional attachmentunavailable to members of the second. By providing reassurance and security to infants, cuddling kept normal development on track. (John Wiley and Sons, 1980)MonstersWhat could have been the exact reason that made Harlow sure that emotional attachment was a decisive part of developmental differences? Harlow made another observation when he decided to scare the baby monkeys with strange, loud objects like machines that almost looked like monsters hitting drums. The monkeys raised b y furry cloth mothers made physical contact with their mothers, brushed against them, and eventually made them feel secure. Harlow theorized that they used their mothers as a psychological base ofoperations, allowing them to remain playful and inquisitive after the initial fright had subsided.( John Wiley and Sons, 1980) On the other hand, babies nurtured by wire mesh mothers did not run to their mothers when scared. Rather, they threw themselves on the floor, clinched themselves, rocked back and forth, and screamed in fear. These behaviors intimately mimicked the actions of autistic and deprived children often seen in institutions as well as the pathologic behavior of adults confined to mental institutions.( Harry F. Harlow, 1959) The awesome power of attachment and loss over mental health and illness could hardly have been performed more dramatically.IsolationIn later experiments, Harlows monkeys proved that better late than never was not always right specially when it came to nu rturing an infant. When Harlow allocated his baby monkeys in get along isolation for the first 8 months of their life, forsaking their contact with other babies or with the artificial mothers, they were permanently hurt. Harlow and his friends kept repeating this experiments, assigning baby monkeys to diffrent periods of isolation times. They came up with the conclusion that the impact of early motherly deprivation could be reversed in monkeys only if it had lasted less than 90 days, and estimated that the equivalent for humans was six months. (Harry F. Harlow, 1959)After these critical periods, no amount of exposure to mothers or peers could change the monkeys anomalistic behaviors and make up for the emotional damage that had already happened. When emotional bonds were first established was the key to whether they could be established at all. (scientific American,1959 )In the following investigations, Harlow showed that baby monkeys could also turn to their cloth artificial mothe r for peacefulness and protection. Placing them in a weird spot Harlow allowed the baby monkeys to explore a room both in the presence of their artificial mother and in her absence. Monkeys in the presence of their mother would use her as a secure base to explore the room, by running around the room to explore and going back to their mothers for satey. When the artificial mothers were removed from the room, the effects were tremendous. The baby monkeys no longer had their secure base to explore the room and would often freeze up, crouch, rock,scream, and cry. (Harlow, Harry.1958)Years afterDespites Harry Harlows work claiming and reinforcing a riches of research on love, affection, and motherly relationships, his own personal life later started to fall into pieces. After the life threatening illness of his wife, he drowned in potomania and depression, eventually becoming separated from his own kids. Friends often described him as sarcastic, thigh-fisted, mercenary, obstinate, and cruel. Yet Harlows enduring legacy reinforced the importance of emotional support, affection, and love in the development of children. (Williams & Wilkins. 1964)ConclusionHarlows experiments showed the significance of having a mother or a parent, or even a mechanical mother. The monkeys showed tremendous affection for the artificial mother and it demonstrated how much they needed them. This only leads me to think of the poor abandoned babies whose parents past away or simply left them for adoption and the effect that that is going to cause in their future. Ive also heard in videos I have seen through my history classes of soilders in WWI. As they were anxious(p) the last words that would come out of their mouths would be mom. We sometimes forget and take for granted what we have, Iem very lucky to plead I always had my mother with me and I em so grateful for that.ReferencesHarry F. Harlow, Love in Infant Monkeys, Scientific American 200 (June 1959)68, 70, 72-73, 74 Blum, Deborah. Love at Goon Park Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection. Perseus Publishing, 2002, p. 225 Harry Harlow. A Science Odyssey. PBS. Web. 11 October 2013 McKinney, William T. (2003). Love at Goon Park Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 2254-2255 Harlow, H.F. Early accessible deprivation and later behavior in the monkey. Pp. 154-173 in Unfinished tasks in the behavioral sciences (A.Abrams, H.H. Gurner & J.E.P. Tomal, eds.) Baltimore Williams & Wilkins. 1964. Harlow HF, Dodsworth RO, Harlow MK. Total social isolation in monkeys, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1965 Harlow HF, Dodsworth RO, Harlow MK. Total social isolation in monkeys, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1965 Harlow HF, Dodsworth RO, Harlow MK. Total social isolation inmonkeys, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1965 Harlow HF, Dodsworth RO, Harlow MK. Total social isolation in monkeys, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1965