Monkeys and Morality: Crash Course Psychology #19

In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank takes a look at a few experiments that helped us understand how we develop as human beings. Things like attachment, separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, and morality are all discussed... also, a seriously unpleasant study with monkeys and fake mothers.

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Chapters:
Introduction: Attachment 00:00
Harlow's Monkey Mother Experiment 0:47
Touch 2:16
Familiarity 3:01
Attachment Styles: Secure, Insecure Ambivalent, & Insecure Avoidant 3:57
The Importance of Attachment Styles 5:24
Developing Self-Concept 6:45
Parenting Models: Authoritarian, Permissive, & Authoritative 7:36
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development 8:18
Preconventional Morality Phase 9:27
Conventional Morality Phase 9:44
Postconventional Morality Phase 10:00
Review & Credits 10:48
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[john]

This episode was like a class that every person who desires to have a child should watch before actually having it. Just saying.

[libernihilus]

This study is contemporary Lovecraft.

"Though Wire Mother is always silent, you have heard her voice in your dreaming-hours; it is shrill, metallic and unnatural, grinding blades that scream a dire warning you will never understand. She wails her deafening roar until you are startled awake...met with her silence and that all-penetrant, disquieting gaze. Her cold touch that is somehow present and absent at the same time. Something tells you she could loose that terrifying voice at any moment, and the memory of its sound frays the edges of your mind. You keep your distance just in case and approach only to feed. She never stops watching.

Soft Mother does not speak, neither in dreaminng or in waking moments. You begin to believe that she is not real. You bury this notion deep in denial.. for it opens the door to a more horrifying one too terrible to speak. It stays in the shadows; the eldritch notion of her - until one day, when swinging on her by your hands, you pull in just the right direction...and her soft, comforting flesh falls away - revealing your denial to be the absolute, undeniable



All this time, she was just another Wire Mother.

She begins to scream her ancient song, and the world turns red.
Her Song is all you will ever hear again.

There is nothing left in you but rage."

[penguinista]

These studies should make us worry about the way we raise boys. Systematically restricting boys access touch and punishing them for crying or having emotions has consequences in how men think and act. It is notable that the behaviors that result from this kind of mistreatment of monkeys are similar to the problematic "male" behaviors that are often derided in our society.

[RedNymph]

it kind of sucks that the shitty decisions of bad parents affects other human beings' lives for years, if not forever...I am now just emerging from insecurities, poor confidence, isolation, depression. The remedy came from me just growing up, experiencing the world, and hearing other people's experiences relayed on the internet. I get more motivation and good, kind words from people's personal stories on the internet...than my own mother ever gave me. I despise her for instilling in me at least 20 years of insecurities and poor self esteem in me....I am just happy that at the age of 25, I am finally getting out of her grasp, and healing myself up into a strong, secure person at long last.

[MissStillAlive]

I'm studying for my exams (psychology student) and this helped to make me feel like learning while watching youtube! :)

[myteh_]

I think morality will always be one of the most interesting parts of psychology and it's probably why I decided to be a sociology major, since there is so much more in Soc about what's right and what's wrong, why you think that, and what has influenced you to think that. it's so so great and makes my brain go all kjldfaskl;jf, to put it eloquently.

[DuchLizUniverStarMpf]

THANK YOU for acknowledging the sadness of this study, when we did this in class my teacher and (only) classmate were practically indifferent and it killed me

[SandwitchReaper]

For as long as I can remember, I've always thought identically to moral dilemmas. In fact, I remember a teacher posing the Heinz dilemma to us in 6th Grade. My answer and reasoning are still the same: of course Heinz was right, because his wife will be dead without that medicine, and if stealing is the only way to save her life, so be it.

[Julesdoesstuff]

Why do people keep commenting to John? This is hank's video! The other day I saw something saying that nerdfighters were "fans of John Green" and I was like come on! Hank is just as important!!!

[debrathomas]

Excellent. My son was a Romanian orphan and struggles with mental health issues. I personally feel he has attachment issues as well as PTSD. Love him dearly none the less.

[Cleromanticon]

The mention of the study on Romanian orphanages was interesting. It's something I've seen come up frequently in adoption advocacy forums. People are more willing to adopt babies from overseas than older children from local foster groups because they assume that a child must be able to remember abuse or neglect to be damaged by it, but it turns out that neglect during infancy (such as one sees from understaffed orphanages) can actually be more damaging than abuse that starts at an older age. 

Considering the amount of brain development that occurs during early infancy through age three or so, the changes to the brain caused by the consistent neglect can be more "hardwired" even if there are no conscious memories behind them.  Contrastingly the children whose abuse started at an older age can often be more able to process what happened to them through traditional psychotherapies like CBT.

[tswagggie]

This video gives great examples of attachment styles and how different parenting styles will affect that child as an adult. I also enjoyed the section on the Harlow experiment with monkeys. That experiment, although it was very sad, cruel, and would not pass today’s standards, had important results. The results of this experiment were not surprising to me and showed that contact and touch are vital to attachment, learning, psychological development, and emotional well-being. How a child is raised early on in life will determine many factors, especially how they view the world, other people, and themselves. I think that the early years of a child’s life are the most crucial because they will shape that child into the person that they will become. Although the parent’s role is very important in a child’s life, I think it is important that as the child grows they should become more autonomous and should begin to make their own decisions based off of the values instilled in them by their parent’s. This will allow the child to develop into an individual and not be dependent on their parent’s, allowing them to make decisions about actions intentionally, with understanding, and without any controlling influences that determine their actions. This to me is the most valuable tool acquired when becoming an adult.

[ravenselene]

Could you do a video on the psychological effects of spanking or corporal punishment?

[iamdylanavery]

This has become my favorite channel on YouTube.

[Bickidan]

As an an abandoned child who lived in several foster homes with no attachment to any parent figure, I totally love this video. I am also a successful mother of a college graduate (cum laude, USC) who now spends my semi-retirement nannying other people's children. Thank you for this video!! Love Hank, too.

[AnniMcSally]

Speaking of cruel experiments Friedrich II. once wanted to find out what language human would speak if no one ever spoke to them. So he had fostresses feeding and changing diapers on babies, while otherwise not interacting with them. After a few weeks all babies were dead. Conclusion babies need attention to survive.

[Trianghoul]

This series gives the brain a nice refresh on PSY 101. A class that should be taught just like any other science class in every high school, as people could really benefit from understanding each other!

[LittleOxfordSt]

'Adult of choice' is my new favourite phrase

[davidbuhrmaster]

Hank,
Will there be an episode on mental disorders, such as ADHD, anxiety or depression? As a nerdfighter and diagnosed sufferer of all three, I would love to see your input and knowledge on the subjects.

[alaskarayburn]

Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but several years ago my boss called me into her office and told me she was worried about me. She knew I had a problem with depression and thought I had been so depressed the last few days that I should go into the hospital. She called my doctor and he agreed so I decided to give it a try. The folks at the local hospital have always been as helpful as they could be. They even saved my life at least once when I had ruptured my appendix. But what I carry away from my stay with them on this occasion is that for three days they were kind, considerate and compassionate, but no one actually touched me. What I mean is that the power of the human touch means a lot to me. My father has been gone twenty years now, but I still remember what it felt like to put my arms around him. On another occasion, about 35 years ago I was having dinner with family in a restaurant. I don't remember much about it, but at one point the waitress came over to ask how we were doing and for just a second, rested her hand on my shoulder. Oh the power and importance of the human touch.