An experiment that you can't even bear to read, but he cruelly did several

The college entrance examination is an important test in our life and also a farewell.

The end of the college entrance examination means that we have to leave our parents' arms, and our relationship with our parents will change from attachment to independence.

The attachment relationship with parents is very important for the growth of children. Several decades ago, someone conducted an experiment to explore the role of the attachment relationship between children and parents and provided a scientific method for raising children. This was the rhesus monkey experiment by the famous American psychologist Harry Harlow.

However, because the experiment was too cruel, it aroused strong dissatisfaction among animal protectionists. One of Harlow's doctoral students later mentioned that Harlow's experiment greatly promoted the "animal freedom movement" that was in full swing.

Let’s take a look at this experiment and the controversy it caused.

01

Monkey's Choice

Harlow chose rhesus monkeys as experimental subjects because 94% of their genes are the same as humans, and they will react similarly to humans when stimulated by the outside world.

The rhesus monkey experiments include the "surrogate mother" experiment, the "mask" experiment, the "Iron Lady" experiment, the "Well of Despair" experiment, etc. Among them, the "surrogate mother" experiment is particularly famous. How is the experiment conducted? What choices will the monkeys make in the experiment? Let's learn about the "surrogate mother" experiment and the "Iron Lady" experiment.

1. "Surrogate mother" experiment

He made two "monkey mothers", one wrapped in soft cotton cloth and the other made of wire mesh. They were both equipped with a milk bottle and heated by a light bulb.

He selected eight little monkeys to be fed by two "mothers".

All the little monkeys stay with "Cotton Mother" almost the whole day, and prefer to drink milk in "Cotton Mother's" arms. Some of them are unwilling to leave "Cotton Mother" even when drinking milk from "Wire Mother". Some will only go to "Wire Mother" when they want to drink milk, and quickly return to "Cotton Mother" after eating.

The little monkeys seemed to regard "cotton mother" as a safe support. When unfamiliar objects, such as a mother spider, were placed in the room, they would run to "cotton mother" for comfort. When they were placed in an unfamiliar environment, all the little monkeys quickly rushed to "cotton mother" and rubbed against her. When they gradually became familiar with the new environment, they would play in the room for a while and return to their mother's arms from time to time.

If they are placed in a room without the "cotton mother", they will scream in fear, curl up, and suck their fingers, even if the "wire mother" is around. They are unwilling to approach the hard "wire mother" in any case, which shows that such a mother cannot give them a sense of security and psychological comfort.

Harlow discovered that these little monkeys would become withdrawn when they grew up, unwilling to play with other monkeys, and unable to reproduce. Even if some individual monkeys gave birth to offspring, they would not treat their children well, and would violently beat or even brutally kill them.

Later, Harlow improved his experiment. He made a "cotton mother" that could swing and let the little monkeys stay with real monkeys for a certain amount of time every day. Through tracking, he found that such monkeys were no different from normal monkeys when they grew up.

2. The “Iron Lady” Experiment

In order to study how strong the monkey's attachment to its mother is, he made another "cotton mother" that would shoot nails at the monkey, blow high-pressure cold air, and sometimes make strange noises. Even so, the monkey would scream and hug its mother tightly, refusing to leave.

Later, Harlow conducted an experiment using real monkey mothers: the female monkeys were first raised in isolation, and then allowed to become pregnant and give birth to baby monkeys. These mother monkeys would not hold their children in their arms and rock them like other monkey mothers, but would brutally kill them, throwing the baby monkeys to the ground and even biting their skulls to pieces.

02

Three variables of love

Through the rhesus monkey experiment, Harry Harlow concluded that there are three variables of love, namely touch, exercise and play. Food cannot satisfy a child's need for his mother, nor is it the main factor in a child's dependence on his mother. Giving children warmth and companionship will help them grow better.

Of course, children are very attached to their mothers. Even if they are hurt or treated badly by their mothers, they are unwilling to leave. If they encounter danger and feel afraid, they will run to their mother's arms first.

Harry Harlow’s experiments with rhesus monkeys may have been cruel and unethical, but given that animal models can theoretically help us understand human issues such as maternal care and depression, Harlow’s research is still taught in psychology, anthropology, and animal behavior courses today.

Image source: Pexels

Harlow's discovery also had an impact on contemporary parenting theory. Many social service agencies such as orphanages also adjusted their policies as a result. They realized that giving babies food and warmth was far from enough, and they also needed to be held, touched, and gently rocked in the arms.

Image source: Pexels

Children have a strong attachment to their parents. Touch, comfort, food and warmth are necessary for their growth. Giving children more care, more hugs and companionship can help them grow up healthy and happy.

Given these experimental conclusions, parents learned how to be better parents and children had a better environment to grow up in.

However, when this conclusion was first reached, many young lives were greatly harmed.

END

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Editor/Heart and Paper