Attachment and separation distress in the infant guinea pig

This study systematically examined separation-induced distress vocalization in the infant guinea pig. Experiment I found that under maximum separation from both social and physical surroundings, the distress vocalization rate remained high for the 1st 4 weeks and then continuously declined to near zero by Week 12. Repeated testings had no effect on habituation of the rate during Week 5. Experiment II, using separation distress vocalization responses to the social (the mother) and the physical (the home pen) environments, showed that when the mother was present the vocalization rate was extremely low, and when she was absent the rate was moderate if the subject was isolated in the home box and high if the subject was in an unfamiliar box. Experiment III confirmed the finding that primary social attachment took place toward the mother. These results corroborate other attachment measures, and indicate the usefulness of the vocalization technique for the study of attachment in the infant guinea pig.