What people thought before
In the mid-20th century, the prevailing idea was that a child bonds with whoever feeds them: attachment was thought to grow out of satisfying the need for food. This also led to recommendations for less affection and more routine.
The experiment was designed to test this directly. Food was available only from the rigid structure, while warmth and softness came only from the other one. If the feeding theory was correct, the babies should prefer the first.
The difference was enormous. They approached the wire one only to eat, then immediately returned. When frightened, the babies ran to the soft one and calmed down while pressed against it, then felt ready to explore the room.
A child needs not only food, but also a secure base to return to. The ability to explore the world grows from it, too.
What this changed
The result matched observations of children in institutions where feeding and hygiene were well organized, but familiar adults were absent. These children's development lagged noticeably, and nutrition alone could not explain it.
Together, these findings changed practice: hospitals began allowing parents to stay with their children, and children's institutions began working to provide each child with a consistent adult instead of rotating caregivers.
There is something else to say about these experiments. Some involved prolonged isolation of the babies, and the consequences for the animals were severe. Such research would not be permitted today, and that is a separate topic in the history of science.
It's also important to remember the limits of applying these findings. Monkeys are not people, and the conclusions were later supported by other work, including observations of children and parents. The experiment alone would not prove anything about human attachment.
Another revealing detail involved exploring the room. When the soft figure was removed, the babies stopped investigating anything new and froze in a corner. Bring it back, and their curiosity returned with it, even though the room itself had not changed.
Finish reading in the Miqo app
1 more minute, then a quiz at the end. Find it under “Relationships → Attachment Styles”
Point your phone camera here to open the App Store or Google Play.
Sources
- Experiments with artificial mothers in the 1950s-60s showed that tactile comfort was preferred to feeding
- the findings influenced attachment theory and childcare practices in institutions