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Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Childhood attachment, animal rights and the 'pit of despair': Harry Harlow's unethical experiments
Childhood attachment, animal rights and the 'pit of despair': Harry Harlow's unethical experiments
Childhood attachment, animal rights and the 'pit of despair': Harry Harlow's unethical experiments
Saturday 22nd October 2022
Explore Harry Harlow's impactful yet ethically questionable experiments on affection and attachment with insights from Deborah Blum.
30 minutes
Informative
Eye-opening
Engaging
Honest
Educational
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Mindfulness & Emotional Wellbeing
Mindful Recovery
Sexual Stigmas & Myths
Mindfulness & Technology in Health
Parenting & Children
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Get the buttons here!Unraveling Harry Harlow's Controversial Experiments
Episode Overview
- Harry Harlow's work highlighted the importance of affection and touch.
- His experiments raised ethical concerns due to harm inflicted on animal subjects.
- Harlow's findings contributed to the development of attachment theory.
- The research spurred the animal rights movement in the US.
- Modern ethical standards in research were influenced by past mistakes.
"What are you willing to pay for knowledge? We need to know, but are you willing to pay this?"
What happens when affection is considered a threat? This episode of 'All In The Mind' dives into the controversial work of Harry Harlow, whose experiments on rhesus monkeys in the mid-20th century challenged the prevailing belief that touch and affection were detrimental to development. Harlow's research, while groundbreaking in highlighting the importance of love and comfort, was marred by ethical concerns due to the distress caused to his animal subjects.
The episode features Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Deborah Blum, who discusses how Harlow's work inadvertently paved the way for modern ethical standards in psychological research and sparked a significant movement for animal rights. The conversation reveals how Harlow's findings influenced our understanding of attachment theory and child development, while also questioning the moral cost of scientific progress. It's a fascinating look at how past mistakes shape current practices and ethics in research.
Are we willing to repeat history, or can we learn from it? Tune in to reflect on these questions and more.