Harry Harlow

Harry Frederick Harlow was a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he served from 1930 until his retirement in 1974. He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University in 1930, joining the UW faculty immediately upon graduation. Harlow established the Psychology Primate Laboratory shortly after his arrival, which later expanded and merged into the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center in 1964, with Harlow serving as director. He also held the position of George C. Comstock Professor of Psychology and was former chairman of the University of Wisconsin Psychology Department.

Harlow's research specialized in comparative and experimental psychology, focusing on learning, motivations, determinants of animal behavior, and the development of affectional behavior using rhesus monkeys. His pioneering studies, beginning in 1957, demonstrated that infant monkeys preferred cloth surrogate mothers for comfort over wire ones for feeding, challenging prevailing theories on the origins of love and attachment. Further experiments revealed the critical role of early social interactions with peers and family in normal sexual and parental behavior. Harlow authored over 300 articles and contributed to numerous scholarly books. His groundbreaking contributions earned him prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Science in 1967 for original and ingenious work in psychology, the G. Stanley Hall Medal from the American Psychological Association, honorary fellowship from the British Psychological Association, and the Carnegie Fellowship in Anthropology at Columbia University.