Common knowledge concludes that when an infant is scared they will seek comfort from their mother or a caregiver, with this knowledge, Harlow decided to place objects that triggered fearful reactions (for example, a wind up drum-playing bear) inside the cage. These results were recorded and examined carefully (p. 129). Another study Harlow developed, included placing the infant monkeys in unfamiliar rooms with various objects.“The monkeys who were raised with both the cloth and wire mothers were then placed in the room with either the cloth mother present, no mother present, or the wire mother present” (p. 129). The purpose was to examine whether or not the baby monkeys adapted and explored the unfamiliar objects, with or without their mother …show more content…
129). Surprisingly, the results of Harlow’s original experiment do not support the following hypothesis: “fulfilling biological needs such as hunger and thirst was the primary motivator of animals' (and humans') behavior” (129). In fact, in Harlow’s studies, these needs appeared to exert very little influence on the monkey’s choice of a mother. Instead, “ a fundamental need for contact comfort was most significant in producing an attachment between infant and its mother” (p. 129). Furthermore, the results also concluded that regardless of which mother had the milk, all the monkeys spent nearly all their time on the cloth mother every day. Even those monkeys feeding from the wire surrogate would often only leave the comfort of the cloth monkey to briefly nurse, the infant would then immediately return to the cloth-covered mother (p. 129). The two groups of monkeys further demonstrated the importance of contact comfort. Although both groups of monkeys maintained the same diet, ate the same amount and gained weight at the same rate, Harlow found that the infants feeding from the wire …show more content…
131). The implications of this psychological study directly correlate to today’s society and to the human life. Despite the fact that the experimental subjects were monkeys, Harlow’s research supports the importance of bonding between the mother/caregiver and the child. Baby monkeys that were not shown affection or were unable to cuddle with the cloth mother had trouble properly digesting food. This led researchers to believe that affection has a large impact on a child’s development. Harlow’s studies have ultimately changed the course of psychology, providing new knowledge on childhood development. One of the many reasons this research changed psychology is that the findings went against the majority of the “popular beliefs of the behaviorists at that time, who focused on the reinforcement qualities of feeding as the driving force behind the infant-mother bond” (p. 131). He went on to state that basically, the key to successful parenting is contact comfort, not the “mammary capabilities, he further states that a man is equally capable in the development of a child (p. 131), a view that still applies in today’s society. His findings not only led to important parenting tips, but also expanded the care throughout other child care facilities, including hospitals and orphanages. His work helped influence the way