BrahminBoss
The Platonic Ideal
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Effects of social isolation in rhesus monkeys
The effects of developmental homeostasis were demonstrated in an experiment conducted in 1966 by Margaret and Harry Harlow. They wanted to test what the consequences of infant rhesus monkeys would be from being separated from their mothers and having little interaction with other monkeys. First, they were separated from their mothers for six to twelve hours after birth and placed with a human made mechanical substitute in which they called the "surrogate mother." These surrogates were made either of a wire cylinder structure or a terry cloth structure and were placed with the babies in a cage.The terry cloth structure was also placed with a nursing bottle. The monkeys preferred and clung to the cloth surrogate mother. In a short period of time the monkeys took on side effects of weight loss and abnormal physical development. Once the monkeys reached an age where they could eat solid foods, they were separated from their cloth mothers for three days. When they were reunited with their mothers, they clung to them and did not wander off. Young rhesus monkeys in their natural habitat normally explore and venture off.
Harlow concluded from this that the need for contact comfort was stronger than the need to explore. Being isolated from social interaction also caused negative outcomes later in their life. The surrogate-raised monkeys exhibited depression and aggressive behavior as they would clutch to themselves, rock constantly back and forth, and avoid interaction with others. Not only affecting their social behavior, it also impacted their sexual interacting. The monkeys underwent little if any sexual posturing or reproduction in their lifetime
