Final answer:
The Harlows' experiments with rhesus monkeys illustrated that social comfort is a more significant need than the provision of food, emphasizing the importance of attachment and bonding in early development.
Step-by-step explanation:
The monkey studies you're referring to are the groundbreaking research experiments conducted by Harry and Margaret Harlow. These studies demonstrated an inherent need for something beyond just nourishment in early development. Specifically, the Harlows' work with rhesus monkeys provided clear evidence that social comfort has a significant role, possibly even greater than the provision of food. When given the choice between a wire mesh mother with food and a soft terrycloth surrogate mother without food, the baby monkeys preferred to seek comfort from the terrycloth mother, showing the importance of tactile comfort and warmth.
This finding was pivotal in understanding the emotional needs of primates, and by extension, the psychological development in humans. It highlighted the essential nature of attachment and bonding in the early stages of life. The influence of these experiments extended into various fields, including psychology, child development, and primatology, fundamentally altering our comprehension of the mother-child bonding process.