Discuss Lorenz’s animal study of attachment.
Updated: 7 days ago
Question 10 Mark Scheme
Discuss Lorenz’s animal study of attachment. In your answer, explain what the study may tell us about human attachment.
[16 marks]
What is expected in the answer?
The command word “discuss” requires students to describe Lorenz’s procedure and findings accurately, then evaluate what these findings can and cannot tell us about human attachment. For 16 marks, students should not spend the whole answer evaluating Lorenz’s methodology in isolation. The strongest discussion explicitly connects imprinting, the critical period and long-term effects to theories and evidence concerning human attachment.
Animal studies of attachment, including Lorenz, are explicitly required by the current specification.
Marks for this question: AO1 = 6, AO3 = 10
This allocation follows the closely related June 2022 16-mark question on Lorenz and Harlow, which allocated AO1 = 6 and AO3 = 10.
Level | Marks | Description |
4 | 13–16 | Knowledge of Lorenz’s animal study is accurate and generally well detailed. Discussion of what the findings may tell us about human attachment is thorough and effective. Relevant comparisons with human attachment research and theory are clearly developed. The answer is clear, coherent and focused, with effective use of specialist terminology. |
3 | 9–12 | Knowledge of Lorenz’s study is evident but there may be occasional inaccuracies or omissions. Discussion of implications for human attachment is mostly effective, although some points may lack development or focus. Specialist terminology is generally used appropriately. |
2 | 5–8 | Limited knowledge of Lorenz’s study is present. The response is mainly descriptive and discussion of human attachment is only partly effective. Evaluation may focus on the animal study without clearly explaining its implications for humans. |
1 | 1–4 | Knowledge of Lorenz’s study is very limited or muddled. Discussion is limited, poorly focused or absent. There is little or no relevant consideration of what the research tells us about human attachment. |
0 | 0 | No relevant content. |
Indicative content
AO1: Lorenz’s procedure
Credit relevant knowledge such as:
Lorenz investigated imprinting in goslings.
Goose eggs were divided into two groups.
One group hatched naturally with the mother goose present.
The other group hatched in an incubator, with Lorenz as the first moving object they encountered.
Lorenz then observed which figure the goslings followed.
The two groups could later be mixed together to investigate whether they continued following the figure on which they had imprinted.
The June 2022 mark scheme describes the eggs as divided between natural hatching with the mother and incubator hatching with Lorenz present.
AO1: Findings
Credit relevant findings such as:
Goslings hatched naturally followed their biological mother.
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