Harry Harlow presented infant monkeys with two “surrogate mothers.” One was a bare wire cylinder with a feeding bottle, whereas the other was a wire cylinder covered with soft terry cloth that had no feeding bottle. The results of his experiments revealed that:

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Contact comfort—rather than nourishment—best explains the monkeys’ choice: Harlow found that infant rhesus monkeys preferred a soft, cloth-covered surrogate over a bare wire one even when the wire mother provided milk.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Attachment theory: emotional bond between infant and caregiver.
- Behaviorist (cupboard love) view: attachment forms because caregiver provides food.
- Harlow’s concept of “contact comfort”: tactile comfort is a primary driver of attachment.
- Experimental method: controlled surrogates isolating tactile comfort from feeding.

2. Step-by-step reasoning from the experiment
- Setup: infants were raised with two surrogates: (A) a bare wire cylinder with a feeding bottle, and (B) a wire cylinder covered in terry cloth with no bottle.
- Prediction under the feeding hypothesis: infants should prefer the wire mother because she provides milk.
- Observation: infants spent far more time clinging to the terry cloth mother, sought her when frightened, and used her as a secure base for exploration.
- Conclusion: the preference for the cloth mother demonstrates attachment motivated by comfort, not solely by feeding.

3. Intermediate “steps” (empirical observations)
- Time allocation: monkeys spent majority of passive/resting time on the cloth mother.
- Stress response: when frightened, monkeys ran to cloth mother for reassurance.
- Developmental outcomes: infants deprived of comfort showed social and emotional deficits.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- The empirical data directly show stronger attachment behaviors (clinging, seeking comfort, secure-base behavior) toward the terry cloth surrogate, demonstrating that tactile comfort caused attachment.

5. Why the other options are incorrect
- “Some attached to wire, others to cloth”: not supported—majority preferred cloth.
- “Attached to the bare wire mother”: contradicts observed preference for cloth despite milk on wire.
- “Did not become attached and showed strong anxiety”: false—monkeys did form attachments to the cloth surrogate, though total maternal deprivation produced deficits.

6. Conclusion
The provided correct answer is confirmed: infant monkeys became attached to the terry cloth mother.

Harry Harlow presented infant monkeys with two “surrogate mothers.” One was a bare wire cylinder with a feeding bottle, whereas the other was a wire cylinder covered with soft terry cloth that had no feeding bottle. The results of his experiments revealed that:Unknown Question Type

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