---
title: "Affectional bond"
chunk: 3/3
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affectional_bond"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T15:31:20.339060+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Siblings and other kin ===
The bond between siblings and other kin is largely dependent upon the age of the kin, and the level of involvement with the child.  Older siblings can take on more of a parental role with younger siblings thus creating more of a parental bond.  This parental bond is found when a parent dies, or when the level of parental involvement is low, however this area of research is still fairly new.  Siblings that are close in age often have more of a friendship bond.  Siblings can also have a different type of bond that is not seen in other relationships because siblings have a close bond but may have more indecisive feelings towards each other.
The bond between other kin is largely dependent on the society that the child grows up in.  In more collectivist cultures the bond between kin is stronger than in the individualistic ones.  The level of bond between kin is often because of shared values, culture, background, and personal experiences.  There is little research on this subject thus the level of information is still low.

== Harlow's attachment in non-human animals ==
Attachment is not something that is only limited to humans, it is seen in non-human animals as well. A classic study demonstrating attachment in animals was done by Harry Harlow with his macaque monkeys. His study suggests that an infant not only feels attachment to their mother because of needs for nutrients and protection, but they feel attachment to their mother for needs of comfort as well.
In Harry Harlow's experiment he separated infant monkeys from their mothers 6–12 hours after birth and raised them in a laboratory, isolated from humans and other monkeys. In each cage these infant monkeys had two "mothers." One mother was made solely from wire, and the other mother was made from a block of wood and sponge rubber which was then wrapped with terry cloth; both radiated heat. In one condition only the wire mother nursed, and in the other condition only the terry cloth mother nursed.
The results show that infant monkeys spent significantly more time with the terry cloth mother whether she provided nutrients or not. This demonstrates that infants not only need their mothers to provide food and protection, but they need to provide some sort of comfort as well.

== See also ==

== References ==

== External links ==
Universality of Human Social Attachment as an Adaptive Process