Final answer:
Harry Harlow's experiments indicated that contact comfort is more crucial to attachment in young monkeys than the provision of food, which led to the development of attachment theory and our understanding of the parent-infant bond and emotional development.
Step-by-step explanation:
Harry Harlow's experiment indeed concluded that contact comfort was a significant factor in determining attachment. Through his research with baby rhesus monkeys, Harlow demonstrated that the needs for warmth, touch, and comfort were fundamental to establishing a caregiver's bond with infants, which in turn plays a critical role in their social and emotional development. The monkeys preferred to spend time with a soft terrycloth surrogate mother that did not provide food, over a wire mesh mother that did, indicating the importance of contact comfort over mere sustenance.
Building upon Harlow's work, John Bowlby developed the attachment theory, which states that attachment is an affective bond crucial for an infant's normal social and emotional development, advocating that the responsiveness of a caregiver and mutually enjoyable interactions are essential for forming a secure base. This secure base provides the child with a sense of safety needed to navigate their exploration of the world, further underscoring the significance of emotional bonds and contact comfort.
Furthermore, Mary Ainsworth's contributions through her Strange Situation procedure indicate that the nature of attachments can differ based on the caregiver's responsiveness, leading to varying attachment styles. These findings together highlight the complex nature of early social interactions and their long-term impact on an individual's relational and emotional well-being.