Harlow, Harry F. 1905-1981

DEVELOPMENT PSYCHOLOGIST

Early Career.

Harry Harlow was born in Fairfield, Iowa, on 31 October 1905. His Ph.D. was in experimental psychology, and he taught for forty-four years (1930-1974) at the University of Wisconsin. His experimental work with animals changed thinking about animal development and learning. His work had practical applications in education and in the developmental aspects of human infancy and childhood.

New Theories of Animal Behavior.

Harlow was the first to show that mammals all tend to learn in similar ways, first by trial and error, then by insightful learning, in which they develop strategies, predict what will happen next, and begin to think abstractly. His work in social and developmental psychology continued with a study of motivation. It was generally thought that animal behavior was motivated by biological drives, such as the need for food or sex. Harlow showed otherwise in...

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