Attachment is considered the emotional bond between an infant and their parent or caregiver. In his experiments with rhesus monkeys, Harry Harlow showed that baby rhesus monkeys preferred to spend their time cuddled up with a surrogate mother made of cloth, as opposed to a surrogate mother made of wire. Harlow’s experiments highlighted that the baby rhesus monkeys chose comfort/security over nutrients/food. In an alternate experiment, Harlow raised baby rhesus monkeys in total isolation without any type of surrogate mother or interaction with other monkeys. The rhesus monkeys raised in total isolation showed very abnormal/disturbing behavior, which included remaining in one location while rocking back and forth in their cage. Further, the monkeys raised in isolation behaved extremely violent/aggressive when introduced into a population of normal rhesus monkeys. Although monkeys and human are both classified as primates, is it appropriate to apply the rhesus monkeys’ behavior to human behavior? How do you think humans would behave if placed in similar situations as the rhesus monkeys raised in isolation, i.e., how do you think humans would behave if raised in total isolation? For incarcerated individuals, who are already being punished by being incarcerated, social isolation is the most severe form of punishment. How do you think humans who are unable to form a strong attachment to their parent/caregiver would behave as adults? Think about children who have parents that are addicted to drugs and are neglectful parents and/or uninvolved in their children’s lives. Do you think people who develop an insecure attachment to their parents/caregivers are more likely to develop a personality disorder such as Antisocial Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or Borderline Personality Disorder?
