Harlow’s experiment and his attachment theory

Attachment theory focuses on the psychological phenomena that occur when we establish emotional ties with other people. The way we do it will be conditioned by how our parents have related to us during childhood. Hence, on many occasions, if the relationship has not been positive, it ends up generating types of toxic relationships or ones that lead to emotional dependence.

Bowlby was the precursor of this attachment theory and discovered that maternal deprivation could seriously affect babies. It could potentially be so harmful that they could even acquire an intellectual delay and assimilate a very harmful way of relating to emotions. Harlow, an American psychologist, decided to test Bowlby’s attachment theory. conducting an experiment that many, if not all, would consider cruel.

The Rhesus monkey experiment

Harlow used Rheus monkeys for his experiment, an Asian species that easily gets used to living among humans. The purpose was to study their behavior in the laboratory to test Bowlby’s attachment theory. How could it not be otherwise, Harlow separated the calves from their mothers to see how they would react..

But Harlow not only limited himself to watching what was happening, but also used a curious methodology. In the cages where the baby monkeys were kept there were two devices: a full bottle that provided them with adequate nutrition and a stuffed animal, or doll, that resembled an adult monkey. This stuffed animal did not have any type of food resource to offer the baby.

What would the babies choose? This is something Harlow wanted to discover not only to test Bowlby’s attachment theory, but also to discover the reality of unconditional love. The result showed how The babies preferred the doll, even though it did not provide them with any food..

This allowed Harlow to verify how important the relationship, the attachment, that babies have with their mothers is when they are very young. Despite not giving them food, they chose the doll that assumed the role of mother for them. That’s who they preferred to spend time with. The other was mere food that gave them neither warmth nor affection.

The most painful attachment theory

Harlow was not satisfied with everything he had verified. He decided to go further without considering the well-being of the Rheus monkeys. He confined them in increasingly smaller spaces where there was only food and drink. Thus, he could observe how they behaved in absolute isolation.

Many monkeys remained locked in these small cages for months, some even years.. Deprived of all social and sensory stimulation, the monkeys began to show alterations in their behavior as a result of all this confinement. The monkeys that spent a year locked up were left in a catatonic state. They were passive and indifferent to everything and everyone.

When the enclosed monkeys reached adulthood, they were unable to relate to others in the correct way.. They could not find a partner, they had no need to have children and, on some occasions, their passivity even made them stop eating and drinking. Many died.

The female monkeys were still lucky, if possible. Taking his investigation to the extreme, Harlow realized that female monkeys could not get pregnant, since they had no interest in it. That is why he forced them, on the “rape rack”, to be impregnated against their will and interest.

To generate attachment, attachment is necessary

The result was completely horrifying. The raped mothers completely ignored the babies, ignored them, did not provide them with food, in short, did not love them. So much so that many were even mutilated, causing them to even die.

Beyond whether or not to verify Bowlby’s attachment theory, what Harlow’s macabre experiment made clear was that his monkeys’ needs went far beyond obtaining food or the possibility of rest. For healthy development, His monkeys preferred to cover this need for “warmth” rather than cover nutritional needs..

On the other hand, In Harlow’s laboratory it was also clear the importance that the first relationships had for the behavior of the monkeys in their adulthood. Thus, it was seen that the deprivation of social stimulation at an early age caused the monkeys to lose interest in this type of contact in later years and when they were given the opportunity to have it.

The deprivation of affection in human beings

Extrapolating these conclusions to human beings, children who have not received the necessary affection as children, who have been isolated, who have been rejected, will have serious difficulties developing healthy relationships. An indelible mark that would leave emotional deficiencies and a need to look for someone to provide them “at any price” with what they did not have in their first years of life. We are talking about emotional dependence, of course.

*Editorial note: Fortunately, today the ethical requirements that research must meet, whether with people or animals, are much stricter and this experiment could under no circumstances be carried out today. Unfortunately, we cannot repair the torture to which these animals were subjected, but we can make their suffering honorable by not forgetting what they taught us.

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