Major Contributions, Awards, and Honors
Harlow's research showed that there are long-term psychological effects to inadequate attentiveness to a child's needs. Another theory that Harlow is responsible for is the "Learning how to Learn Theory" that describes the ability of animals to to slowly learn a general rule that can then be applied to solve new problems. (http://muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/harlow.htm)
Harlow received numerous awards and honors, including the Howard Crosby Warren Medal (1956), the National Medal of Science (1967), and the Gold Medal from the American Psychological Foundation (1973). He served as head of the Human Resources Research branch of the Department of the Army from 1950–1952, head of the Division of Anthropology and Psychology of the National Research Council from 1952–1955, consultant to the Army Scientific Advisory Panel, and president of the American Psychological Association from 1958-1959.
Harlow received numerous awards and honors, including the Howard Crosby Warren Medal (1956), the National Medal of Science (1967), and the Gold Medal from the American Psychological Foundation (1973). He served as head of the Human Resources Research branch of the Department of the Army from 1950–1952, head of the Division of Anthropology and Psychology of the National Research Council from 1952–1955, consultant to the Army Scientific Advisory Panel, and president of the American Psychological Association from 1958-1959.
The Rhesus Monkey Studies
During his career, Harlow did most of his studies on Rhesus monkeys. At first, his studied involved separating infant monkeys from their mothers for twelve hours after birth and placing them with surrogate "mothers" made of either wood and soft cloth or of a heavy wire mesh. Both mothers were warmed electrically. Even when the wire mother showed the it would provide nourishment and warmth, the babies clung to the cloth mother for longer amounts of time showing that the need for affection and closeness is far more powerful than of that for warmth. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bhharl.html)
From his studies, Harlow concluded that sex alone could not drive society, but that external affairs, social behavior and and family ties are all factors that a healthy social relations and development depend upon. (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/grahamh/RM1web/Classic%20papers/Harlow1958.pdf)