Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsLove and AffectionHarry Harlow’s Research on LoveWire Mother ExperimentFear and SecurityImpact of Harry Harlow’s ResearchFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Love and Affection

Harry Harlow’s Research on Love

Wire Mother Experiment

Fear and Security

Impact of Harry Harlow’s Research

Frequently Asked Questions

Close

Harry Harlow was one of the first psychologists to scientifically investigate the nature of human love and affection. Through a series of controversial monkey mother experiments, Harlow was able to demonstrate the importance of early attachments, affection, and emotional bonds in the course of healthy development.

This article discusses his famous monkey mother experiments and what the results revealed. It also explores why Harlow’s monkey experiments are so unethical and controversial.

Early Research On Love

During the first half of the 20th century, many psychologists believed that showing affection towards children was merely a sentimental gesture that served no real purpose. According to many thinkers of the day, affection would only spread diseases and lead to adult psychological problems.

“When you are tempted to pet your child, remember that mother love is a dangerous instrument,” the behavioristJohn B. Watsononce even went so far as to warn parents.

Psychologists were motivated to prove their field as a rigorous science. Thebehaviorist movementdominated the field of psychology during this time. This approach urged researchers to study only observable and measurable behaviors.

An American psychologist namedHarry Harlow, however, became interested in studying a topic that was not so easy to quantify and measure—love. In a series of controversial experiments conducted during the 1960s, Harlow demonstrated the powerful effects of love and in particular, the absence of love.

His work demonstrated the devastating effects of deprivation on young rhesus monkeys. Harlow’s research revealed the importance of a caregiver’s love for healthy childhood development.

Harlow’s experiments were oftenunethical and shockingly cruel, yet they uncovered fundamental truths that have influenced our understanding of child development.

Harlow noted that very little attention had been devoted to the experimental research of love. At the time, most observations were largely philosophical and anecdotal.

Many of the existingtheories of lovecentered on the idea that the earliest attachment between a mother and child was merely a means for the child to obtain food, relieve thirst, and avoid pain. Harlow, however, believed that this behavioral view of mother-child attachments was an inadequate explanation.

The Monkey Mother Experiment

In other words, the infant monkeys went to the wire mother only for food but preferred to spend their time with the soft, comforting cloth mother when they were not eating.

Based on these findings, Harry Harlow concluded that affection was the primary force behind the need for closeness.

Harry Harlow’s Further Research

Later research demonstrated that young monkeys would also turn to their cloth surrogate mother for comfort and security. Such work revealed that affectionate bonds were critical for development.

Monkeys who were with their cloth mother would use her as a secure base to explore the room. When the surrogate mothers were removed from the room, the effects were dramatic. The young monkeys no longer had their secure base for exploration and would often freeze up, crouch, rock, scream, and cry.

While he was treated for depression and eventually returned to work, his interests shifted following the death of his wife. He no longer focused on maternal attachment and instead developed an interest in depression and isolation.

Despite the turmoil that marked his later personal life, Harlow’s enduring legacy reinforced the importance of emotional support, affection, and love in the development of children.

A Word From Verywell

Harry Harlow’s work was controversial in his own time and continues to draw criticism today. While such experiments present major ethical dilemmas, his work helped inspire a shift in the way that we think about children and development and helped researchers better understand both the nature and importance of love.

Frequently Asked QuestionsHarlow’s research demonstrated the importance of love and affection, specifically contact comfort, for healthy childhood development. His research demonstrated that children become attached to caregivers that provide warmth and love, and that this love is not simply based on providing nourishment.Harlow’s monkey mother experiment was unethical because of the treatment of the infant monkeys. The original monkey mother experiments were unnecessarily cruel. The infant monkeys were deprived of maternal care and social contact.In later experiments, Harlow kept monkeys in total isolation in what he himself dubbed a “pit of despair.” While the experiments provided insight into the importance of comfort contact for early childhood development, the research was cruel and unethical.

Harlow’s research demonstrated the importance of love and affection, specifically contact comfort, for healthy childhood development. His research demonstrated that children become attached to caregivers that provide warmth and love, and that this love is not simply based on providing nourishment.

Harlow’s monkey mother experiment was unethical because of the treatment of the infant monkeys. The original monkey mother experiments were unnecessarily cruel. The infant monkeys were deprived of maternal care and social contact.In later experiments, Harlow kept monkeys in total isolation in what he himself dubbed a “pit of despair.” While the experiments provided insight into the importance of comfort contact for early childhood development, the research was cruel and unethical.

Harlow’s monkey mother experiment was unethical because of the treatment of the infant monkeys. The original monkey mother experiments were unnecessarily cruel. The infant monkeys were deprived of maternal care and social contact.

In later experiments, Harlow kept monkeys in total isolation in what he himself dubbed a “pit of despair.” While the experiments provided insight into the importance of comfort contact for early childhood development, the research was cruel and unethical.

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hu TY, Li J, Jia H, Xie X.Helping others, warming yourself: altruistic behaviors increase warmth feelings of the ambient environment.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1349. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01349Suomi SJ.Risk, resilience, and gene-environment interplay in primates.J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011;20(4):289-297.Zhang B.Consequences of early adverse rearing experience(EARE) on development: insights from non-human primate studies.Zool Res. 2017;38(1):7-35. doi:10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2017.002Harlow HF.The nature of love.American Psychologist.1958;13(12):673-685. doi:10.1037/h0047884Hong YR, Park JS.Impact of attachment, temperament and parenting on human development.Korean J Pediatr. 2012;55(12):449-454. doi:10.3345/kjp.2012.55.12.449Additional ReadingBlum D.Love at Goon Park. New York: Perseus Publishing; 2011.Ottaviani J, Meconis D.Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love. Ann Arbor, MI: G.T. Labs; 2007.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hu TY, Li J, Jia H, Xie X.Helping others, warming yourself: altruistic behaviors increase warmth feelings of the ambient environment.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1349. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01349Suomi SJ.Risk, resilience, and gene-environment interplay in primates.J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011;20(4):289-297.Zhang B.Consequences of early adverse rearing experience(EARE) on development: insights from non-human primate studies.Zool Res. 2017;38(1):7-35. doi:10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2017.002Harlow HF.The nature of love.American Psychologist.1958;13(12):673-685. doi:10.1037/h0047884Hong YR, Park JS.Impact of attachment, temperament and parenting on human development.Korean J Pediatr. 2012;55(12):449-454. doi:10.3345/kjp.2012.55.12.449Additional ReadingBlum D.Love at Goon Park. New York: Perseus Publishing; 2011.Ottaviani J, Meconis D.Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love. Ann Arbor, MI: G.T. Labs; 2007.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Hu TY, Li J, Jia H, Xie X.Helping others, warming yourself: altruistic behaviors increase warmth feelings of the ambient environment.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1349. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01349Suomi SJ.Risk, resilience, and gene-environment interplay in primates.J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011;20(4):289-297.Zhang B.Consequences of early adverse rearing experience(EARE) on development: insights from non-human primate studies.Zool Res. 2017;38(1):7-35. doi:10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2017.002Harlow HF.The nature of love.American Psychologist.1958;13(12):673-685. doi:10.1037/h0047884Hong YR, Park JS.Impact of attachment, temperament and parenting on human development.Korean J Pediatr. 2012;55(12):449-454. doi:10.3345/kjp.2012.55.12.449

Hu TY, Li J, Jia H, Xie X.Helping others, warming yourself: altruistic behaviors increase warmth feelings of the ambient environment.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1349. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01349

Suomi SJ.Risk, resilience, and gene-environment interplay in primates.J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011;20(4):289-297.

Zhang B.Consequences of early adverse rearing experience(EARE) on development: insights from non-human primate studies.Zool Res. 2017;38(1):7-35. doi:10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2017.002

Harlow HF.The nature of love.American Psychologist.1958;13(12):673-685. doi:10.1037/h0047884

Hong YR, Park JS.Impact of attachment, temperament and parenting on human development.Korean J Pediatr. 2012;55(12):449-454. doi:10.3345/kjp.2012.55.12.449

Blum D.Love at Goon Park. New York: Perseus Publishing; 2011.Ottaviani J, Meconis D.Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love. Ann Arbor, MI: G.T. Labs; 2007.

Blum D.Love at Goon Park. New York: Perseus Publishing; 2011.

Ottaviani J, Meconis D.Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love. Ann Arbor, MI: G.T. Labs; 2007.

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