Social-Emotional Development Across the Lifespan

AP Psychology· difficulty 2/5

In a contemporary replication of Harlow's surrogate-mother paradigm, infant macaques are housed with two artificial mothers: a wire frame dispensing milk and a cloth-covered frame providing no food. Researchers record clinging time, and they introduce a startling mechanical spider to assess where the infant flees.

When the cloth mother is present, infants explore a novel toy more often than when she is absent. This pattern best illustrates:

  • A

    Use of an attachment figure as a secure base for exploration

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  • B

    Object permanence

  • C

    Stranger anxiety

  • D

    Imprinting in the Lorenz sense

Explanation

Bowlby and Ainsworth describe attachment figures as a 'secure base' that supports exploration—exactly what Harlow's monkeys demonstrated with the cloth surrogate.

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