In a series of influential mid-20th century studies, infant monkeys were separated from their mothers at birth and raised with two artificial surrogates: one made of bare wire that provided milk, and another covered in soft cloth that offered no food. The research demonstrated that the infants overwhelmingly preferred the cloth surrogate for comfort and security, fundamentally changing the understanding of attachment. Given the severe and lasting psychological distress this procedure caused the monkeys, critically evaluate whether the scientific knowledge gained from these studies justified the methods used. Support your position with ethical reasoning.

Ethical Evaluation of Historical Attachment Research

A series of experiments in the 1950s aimed to understand the nature of the mother-infant bond. In these studies, newborn monkeys were separated from their biological mothers and raised in isolation. They were presented with two surrogate mothers: one made of wire that provided milk, and another made of soft cloth that did not. The infant monkeys consistently preferred to cling to the soft cloth mother for comfort, only going to the wire mother for food. This research provided strong evidence that comfort and security are critical components of attachment, not just nourishment. 

Based on this description, construct an argument evaluating whether the scientific insights gained from this experiment justify the methods used. Your evaluation should consider the ethical implications for the animal subjects and why this research might be judged differently by today's standards.

Ethical Evaluation of a Foundational Attachment Study

Harry Harlow's experiments on monkeys, while influential, are now widely considered unethical and cruel. These studies were conducted in the 1950s, prior to the establishment of modern ethical guidelines for animal research, which explains the nature of the procedures used.

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Harry Harlow was a researcher who, along with John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, conducted foundational studies on attachment. In the 1950s, he performed a series of experiments on rhesus monkeys to investigate the mother-infant bond. By presenting newborn monkeys with two surrogate mothers—one made of wire that provided milk and another made of soft cloth that did not—Harlow discovered that the monkeys overwhelmingly preferred the cloth mother. They sought the wire mother only for nourishment but spent the majority of their time clinging to the cloth mother for comfort. This led Harlow to conclude that feelings of comfort and security, rather than just nourishment, are the critical components for forming strong maternal-infant bonds, which are essential for healthy psychosocial development.

Harry Harlow

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

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