The Monkey Experiments
What did Harlow do to monkeys?
4.4 (36)
52 mins
Discover the disturbing experiments of psychologist Harry Harlow, who separated infant rhesus monkeys from their mothers to study attachment, love, and emotional development. Explore his surrogate mother experiments, extreme isolation studies, and the profound psychological damage suffered by many of the animals.
Ep 1:
Born of Wire and Cloth
Meet Harry Harlow, the misfit psychologist who defied a cold era of child-rearing dogma to discover that infant monkeys craved touch far more than food—setting up a revolution in understanding love.
Ep 2:
A Podium, A Marriage, A Confession
Harlow stuns the American Psychological Association by declaring love a scientific necessity, becoming a celebrity overnight—while at home, his own family lives without the warmth he preaches.
Ep 3:
Iron Mothers and Empty Cages
As surrogate-raised monkeys grow into damaged adults, Harlow builds terrifying 'evil mothers' and isolation chambers, uncovering brutal truths about abuse, attachment, and how early deprivation can become irreversible.
Ep 4:
Despair, Death, and a Divided Legacy
Personal tragedy pushes Harlow to engineer a literal 'pit of despair,' as his career ends amid electroshock therapy, cruelty, controversy, and a complicated scientific legacy that reshaped how we see love.
Discussions (5)
Sam
Level 6 · 3 weeks agoBuilt a whole science of love, went home and shook his kids' hands. Watson would be proud Harry 💀
Parnell
Level 6 · 3 weeks agoraised by data not hugs lol
Lionel
Level 6 · 3 weeks agoWatson's 1928 book did literally advise against hugging kids and suggested a handshake. That part checks out. The man wrote it unironically and it shaped an entire generation of parenting advice.
