Discuss Harlow’s animal study of attachment.
Updated: 6 days ago
Question 10 Mark Scheme
Discuss Harlow’s animal study of attachment. Refer to contact comfort and the scientific and ethical issues raised by the research.
[16 marks]
What is expected in the answer?
The command word “discuss” requires students to describe Harlow’s procedure and findings accurately, explain the importance of contact comfort, and then evaluate the research. Because the question specifically names scientific and ethical issues, both should form a substantial part of the discussion rather than appearing as brief generic criticisms.
Harlow is one of the two animal studies of attachment required by the current specification.
Marks for this question: AO1 = 6, AO3 = 10
This is an appropriate allocation for a 16-mark discussion question without application, consistent with the 2022 extended question on animal studies of attachment.
Level | Marks | Description |
4 | 13–16 | Knowledge of Harlow’s study, findings and contact comfort is accurate and generally well detailed. Discussion of the scientific and ethical issues is thorough and effective. Conclusions and implications are clearly linked to attachment. The answer is clear, coherent and focused, with effective use of specialist terminology. |
3 | 9–12 | Knowledge of Harlow’s research is evident but there may be occasional inaccuracies or omissions. Scientific and ethical issues are discussed with some effectiveness. The answer is generally clear and organised but may lack development or focus in places. |
2 | 5–8 | Limited knowledge of Harlow’s research is present. The response is mainly descriptive and discussion is only partly effective. Scientific and/or ethical issues may be generic or insufficiently developed. |
1 | 1–4 | Knowledge of Harlow’s research is very limited or muddled. Discussion is limited, poorly focused or absent. There may be little meaningful consideration of contact comfort or scientific and ethical issues. |
0 | 0 | No relevant content. |
Indicative content
AO1: Harlow’s procedure
Credit relevant knowledge such as:
Harlow studied attachment in infant rhesus monkeys.
Infant monkeys were reared with artificial or surrogate mothers.
One surrogate was made from bare wire.
The other surrogate was covered in soft cloth.
Milk could be provided by a surrogate so that attachment to the source of food could be compared with attachment to the softer mother.
Harlow recorded how much time the monkeys spent with each surrogate.
He also observed their behaviour in frightening or unfamiliar situations.
Later behaviour could be observed to investigate the long-term effects of disrupted early attachment.
The 2022 mark scheme identifies the controlled environment, wire and cloth surrogates, recording time spent with each and fear conditions as central procedural details.
AO1: Findings
Credit relevant findings such as:
The infant monkeys spent considerably more time with the cloth mother than the wire mother.
This preference occurred regardless of which surrogate provided milk.
When frightened, the monkeys tended to cling to or seek protection from the cloth mother.
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