Well of Despair

Well of Despair

Works Cited

"Adoption History: Harry Harlow, Monkey Love Experiments." Adoption History: Harry Harlow, Monkey Love Experiments. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/studies/HarlowMLE.htm>.

"Attachment Theory." Attachment Theory. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/attachment.html>.

"Childhood Abuse." What Makes Serial Killers Tick? — — Crime Library on TruTV.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/tick/abuse_3.html>.

Harlow, H. F. & Zimmermann, R. R. (1958). The development of affective responsiveness in infant monkeys. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 102, 501 -509.

"Harry Harlow." - New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Harry_Harlow>.

"How Childhood Neglect Stunts the Brain." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/09/neuroscience-of-neglect/>.

"Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids - Doc Zone | CBC-TV." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2010/hyperparents/research.html>.

"Why Kids Need to Fail to Succeed in School." - The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/back-to-school/why-kids-need-to-fail-to-succeed-in-school/article4513436/?service=mobile>.

Violation of ASA

• By tormenting baby monkeys, Harlow violated Principle B: Integrity, he jeopardized the baby monkeys welfare.
• He also violated this principle by not being fair to the baby monkeys (ex. taking them away from their birth mothers when they were born)

Harlows Monkey Experiment

Violation of APA

• violation of Principle A: Beneficence and Non-Maleficence. Dr. Harlow violated this principle by causing harm to the baby monkeys by literally scaring them to death and causing them pain and suffering.

Background Information

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison , in the USA, Dr. Harry Harlow conducted an experiment in which he hoped would illuminate the idea that “nurture” is more beneficial in a healthy psychological development than “nature”.

Dr. Harlow also expresses, through his experiment the importance of the attachment theory, which was constructed in 1952 following the “2 year old goes to the hospital” experiment.

Where are we today?

In an article..

By Margaret Wente she explains that kids need to fail in order to succeed. By giving kids who don't meet expectations a "free pass" we are only encouraging them to give up, because they're being taught that regardless of what they do, their parents will be there to bail the out. Which as we all know, is not true. Wente says that what ultimately determines a child's sucess is their "grit" or determination to not give up after failure.

In a study..

By CBC, they investigated the long term effects of helicopter parenting from childhood to university age. The children were coddled throughout their lives, enrolled in too many extra curricular activities to actually enjoy being a kid and were all set up with private tutors, despite their already impecible grades.

• This experiment helped us to understand the long term effects that two parenting styles can have on a child's behaviour, all the way into adolescence and their adult life. (No Touch Comfort and Too Much Touch Comfort (or helicopter parenting)
• In Harlow's experiment he is trying to prove that children only need there parents for things like food and shelter, and that touch comfort is not necessary. However, a lack of touch comfort at an early age can have drastic long term effects.
• A study at Harvard Medical School tracked children who had lacked touch comfort from their parents and found common abnormalities among all the children who lacked touch comfort.
• They discovered that children who lacked touch comfort had thin myelin layers in their prefrontal cortex where cognition and personality takes place in the brain. This along with changes to other brain regions, cause these children to be antisocial well into their adolescent and adult lives.
• This study compared their findings to Harlow's experiment and also determined that the lack of touch comfort in children can also cause developmental problems, cognitive defects, mental illness and significant reductions to brain size
• Although children need touch comfort, too much touch comfort can also be harmful. "Helicopter parenting" and "bubble wrap kids" have become increasingly popular in today's society, but they are only setting kids up for failure.

By the time the children reached university age the study concluded the following:

•17% of students surveyed had experienced depression

•12.2% had an anxiety disorder

•10.4% experienced seasonal affective disorder

•18% reported at least one of these three conditions as affecting their academic performance

In conclusion

Harlow's experiment provided valuable information about the way parents raise their children. It helped us to understand that children need their parents for touch comfort and protection to survive, but how too much or too little can be harmful in the long run.

The Experiment

Profile : Dr. Harlow

The 1950s was a time of questioning when it came to parenting methods that were being used. In 1958, Dr. Harry Harlow conducted an experiment on baby monkeys to prove the attachment theory.

• Test Subjects: Baby Monkeys which were separated at birth from their mothers
• Research question: Will the baby monkey choose nature, the wire surrogate which provided food, or nurture, the cloth surrogate which provided comfort. And how will the psychological development of each baby monkey differ depending on whether they are raised with a cloth or wire surrogate.

Doctor Harlow aimed to prove that the baby monkeys would prefer the cloth mother over the wired because of the attachment theory and the idea that the cloth surrogate would provide nurture in the form of comfort.

Results

Theories and Values

• Based on Harlows experiment, it becomes evident that "nurture" is just as valuable as "nature", if not even more so.
• The proper socialization of children by their families, especially their mother, is critical in their healthy psychological development.
• Emotional attachment helps a child feel comfortable and protected, as well as cope with obstacles it might encounter.

Societies Values

• Parents are more involved in their childrens lives. ex; organized sports, tutors, school work, activities etc.
• Are also more aware of the damages that neglect and lack of comfort can do.
• Parents feel the need to constantly be reassuring/ protecting their children

• When given the choice between both surrogates, the baby monkeys would favor the cloth surrogate.
• When the baby monkeys were exposed to frightening experiences:

Those which were raised by the cloth mother clutched to her for comfort and protection.

Those which were raised by the wired mother did not seek her for comfort, instead they screamed in terror and rocked back and forth