Discovering Love Adam Zoll and Kai Reinstein

Background H. F. Harlow experiments with infant attachment to mother Proposition: Must be some basic need in infants for close contact with something soft in addition to biological needs

Method Infant monkeys Two constructed mothers: – Soft Mother – Wire Mother Three experiments: – 8 monkeys with access to both mothers – Fear experiment – Open field test with unknown objects – Test attachment after period of separation

Results Enormous preference for soft mother Fulfillment of biological needs not as important in monkeys’ choice of mother

Significance Need for contact comfort in infants Reforms in institutional settings

Criticism Psychological damage to monkeys without a soft mother in any experiment Ethical to experiment on monkeys?

Further Applications Harlow later tested effects of abuse on monkeys with abusive constructed mother – Contact comfort outweighs abuse Experiments with skin-to-skin contact