Studies and Experiments

Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments

Citation Formats

General Reference

Psychology Atlas. "Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://psychology.interactiveatlas.org/studies/harlows-monkey-experiments.

APA Style

Psychology Atlas. (n.d.). Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://psychology.interactiveatlas.org/studies/harlows-monkey-experiments

BibTeX

@misc{psychologyatlas-harlow-s-rhesus-monkey-experiments,
  author = {Psychology Atlas},
  title = {Harlow's Rhesus Monkey Experiments},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://psychology.interactiveatlas.org/studies/harlows-monkey-experiments},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

From the 1950s, Harry Harlow separated infant rhesus monkeys from their biological mothers and raised them with two inanimate surrogate mothers, one bare wire and one wire covered in soft cloth, varying which surrogate dispensed milk. The monkeys clung to the cloth mother for comfort regardless of which one fed them. A later, more severe strand of the work isolated infant monkeys completely, including in an inverted-pyramid isolation device, producing lasting behavioral anomalies.

Facts

Key Finding

Infant rhesus monkeys strongly preferred a soft cloth-covered surrogate mother over a wire surrogate even when only the wire surrogate provided food, showing that contact comfort, not feeding, was the primary driver of attachment. 1

Study Year

1958 1

Cross-Tradition Connections