Briefly outline and evaluate Lorenz animal studies. (4 marks)

Lorenz used animal studies to research into imprinting. Improinting is when new-born creature bonds to thetype of animals it meets at birth and begins to pattern its behaviour after them. Lorenz got a group of geese eggs and split them into two groups; one incubator group which saw Lorenz first and one birth group that saw mother first. The incubator group imprinted on Lorenz whereas the birth group imprinted on the mother goose.In evaluation, one disadvantage to this study is that it contains extrapolation. Psychologists argue that humans and animals are too different of a species, therefore they cannot be used to explain behaviours in each other. This then means that Lorenz study lacks external validity. Therefore, we cannot use animal studies to explain attachment in humans.