Well of Despair

Description

Harry Harlow was a comparative psychologist in the 1950s and 60s.

His most well-known experiment is the Well of Despair, also known as the Pit of Despair.

Harlow tested rhesus monkeys. Taking babies from their mothers, he placed them in stainless steel cages that he called 'Wells of Despair'

Description 2

The monkeys were kept for experimentation for up to fifteen years.

Harlow was investigating the questions of whether love was a necessary part of human growth and development in order for the child not to come out psychologically impaired.

This is an example of a 'Well of Despair'

Well of Despair

By: Brian Hubbard, Matthew Baddeley, Hannah Rousseau, Brittny Richard, Franklin Ramsay

Works Cited

"Null Hypothesis - The Journal of Unlikely Science." Null Hypothesis. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.

"5 Horrific Psychological Experiments – #3: The Well of Despair." Stuff You Should Know. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.

"Mad Scientist #1: Harry Harlow." Madscientistblog.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.

Getting In Depth

At the time, it was believed that holding infants and giving them attention caused them to grow up being dependent, and for boys it was rumored that they could even become gay. Harlow's experiments on rhesus monkeys proved these theories to be wrong.

Harlow's Experiments Explained

Harlow had placed rhesus monkeys in stainless steel cages with some access to objects he dubbed 'Iron Maidens' and 'Cloth Mothers.' These 'Iron Maidens' were iron wire surrogate 'mothers' which carried food. The cloth mothers carried no food but were soft and warm to the touch. Inevitably, the monkeys grew attached to the cloth mothers. They would get their food then immediately gravitate towards their 'mother.' Harlow, needing to prove his point further, devised a series of tests that the monkeys would undergo. Firstly, drawing from the fact that babies feel insecure without their mothers, he placed a baby monkey inside a room with various objects inside. These monkeys, having spent most of their lives in cages, would most definitely be frightened by their new surroundings.

After placing a cloth mother in the room, the monkeys would flee towards them. They visibly relaxed at the mother's touch, and became comfortable enough to explore the room.

Unfortunately, the baby monkeys who were then separated from their surrogate mothers had lasting psychological damage. They did not interact with the other primates and spent the majority of their time huddling in a corner.

Or Maybe Not...

Then again, there are always alternatives to experiments. Several steps could have been taken to prevent the unethical actions.

Firstly, the baby monkeys were taken after they had already formed bonds. This wasn't necessary, as babies form bonds as newborns before they have ever had a previous bond.

Also, humans who had previously been isolated could have been interviewed and tested. Obviously using different experiments.

What Was Learned

Harlow concluded that babies need love and affection in order to grow properly without fear and lasting psychological damage.

A Baby Rhesus Monkey in the Well of Despair

Unethical

Unethical Experimentation Needed?

To be able to judge whether the experiment was ethical or not, we must examine how it pertains to actual human life. Therefore the unethical behavior of the experiment was really needed in order to obtain accurate results. This is because in real or actual life humans go through these situations of total isolation, so in order to know the results of being in such a situation without using actual human beings, (which would have been terrible to do and also illegal), Dr. Harlow decided to use monkeys who have close behavioral similarities with human beings.To do this experiment, he took into consideration the time periods in which a human may go through the same situations. Consequently, he used a 15 year time frame to do these experiments (even though results may have started showing after a year)

Harlow's experiments on rhesus monkeys were most definitely unethical. He mentally scarred the baby monkeys. He isolated them in stainless steel cages just to see the effect it would have. These monkeys were psychologically tortured for several years. Of course, this is animal abuse. It's not right to treat a living creature this way.

Many scientists at the time believed Harlow's work was simply common knowledge, deeming his work unnecessary and giving him the name of 'sadist.'