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Harry Frederick Harlow Social Psychologist

October 31, 1905 - December 6, 1981. Died at the age of 75 Harry Harlow was an American social psychologist that worked on maternal-deprivation and social isolation experiments with rhesus monkeys. He studied the interaction between baby monkeys and their pseudo-mothers, especially the relationship between the metal mother that could feed the baby versus the cloth mother that couldn't. His research revealed that the bond between a mother and her child is born out of more than the child's need for food, as was the popular belief at the time, and also the fact that love is an essential part of the growth period of children. Such findings vastly contradicted with the popular belief at the time. In fact, one of Harlow's friends, also a scientist, had such a firm belief that child care could be treated as a scientific process that he raised his own daughter in a box about 3 foot by 4 foot by 5 foot, and only took out his daughter for scheduled meals and get togethers.

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Education
 * He started his college schooling at Reed College in Portland, Oregon﻿.
 * He earned his B.A and Ph.D. at Stanford University.
 * He continued studies at University of Madison, Wisconsin.
 * Studied largely under Lewis Terman.

Three Major Accomplishments
 * Harlow's famous wire/cloth "mother" monkey studies demonstrated that the need for affection created a stronger bond between mother and infant than did physical needs.
 * His life work provided a developmental framework based on data results rather than theories with limited empirical support.
 * During his career, he was recognized with several distinctions, including: Howard Crosby Warren Medal, National Medal of Science, and Gold Medal from American Psychological Foundation.

Two contributions
 * Convinced the world that the bond between mother and child is born out of more than a need for food, and has lasting impacts on a child’s life.
 * Proved that humans aren't the only species with the capability to love.

Psychological Perspective Harry Harlow could be classified as having a psychoanalytical perspective due to the fact that he studied the effect of how baby monkeys were raised. This type of perspective studies how people (or in Harlow's case, monkeys) act based on their environment and how they were raised. Harlow's research discovered the fact that baby monkeys need a relationship with a comfort item, be that a blanket, pillow, or a cloth mother.

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