Dse141 Harlow and Ainsworth

1727 Words7 Pages
Many questions have been raised about whether children need more than ‘cupboard love’ to exist. Do we really need comfort and love to survive? Harlow and Ainsworth’s research work emphasised the importance of attachment with their primary caregiver however their methods were very different. Harlow (1958) and Ainsworth (1950) provided valuable insights into sensitive responsiveness by children and their main caregiver. By comparing the psychologists’ experiments we get a greater insight into children’s requirements not just for necessities like nourishment but their innate need to be loved. Although both researchers were influenced by Bowlby’s theory of attachment, their methods were diverse. The aim of this essay is to show the similarities and differences of the two psychologists. The essay will at look at society at that time, with a breakdown of their findings. Also it will explain the discoveries made by the researchers, comparing the species used, show their methodology, comparing replicating and ethics of both experiments. In this essay the importance of attachment has been emphasised. The researchers had close links with Bowlby’s theory of attachment. Bowlby’s ethological-evolutionary attachment theory explained how attachment occurs. Bowlby believed children and the primary carer developed mutual bonds which gave security and comfort to the child so the carer is not just seen as a provider of food. In the 1950s, Ainsworth joined Bowlby’s research group in London, she initially wasn’t convinced by the hypotheses of Bowlby, as society in the 1950s, didn’t believe that children needed tenderness ‘It seemed obvious to her … that a baby loves his mother because she satisfies his needs’ (Ainsworth, 1992, cited in Custance 2010, Pg. 216). However later in her career, Ainsworth was observing families within Uganda, she could see children were more
Open Document