Seven Shocking Experiments with Alarming Results
The realm of psychology has been a fertile ground for exploration and understanding the human psyche. However, some experiments have left a dark stain on the field's history, raising questions about ethics and the limits of scientific research.
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Conducted by psychologist Philip Zimbardo in 1971, this experiment aimed to test the behaviour of people given power over others. The study lasted six days and resulted in one-third of the "prison guards" displaying "genuinely sadistic behavior." Participants were randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners and were given $15 a day to live out the experience as realistically as possible.
Harlow's Isolation Experiments
Behavioral psychologist Harry Harlow conducted experiments on baby monkeys, separating them from their mothers at an early age. The monkeys were given monkey dolls as a "security blanket," but the isolation led to crippling emotional and physical problems, including poor digestion and lower weights. Harlow described the damaged monkey parents as "evil."
The Milgram Obedience Experiments
In this experiment, psychologist Stanley Milgram tested how much people follow orders from authority figures. Participants were told to deliver electric shocks to an actor, believing the shocks were real. The actor feigned pain and begged participants to stop, but a researcher in a white coat instructed them to continue. Sixty-five percent of participants continued to deliver shocks even after the actor appeared to be stone dead.
The "Pit of Despair" Experiment
Harlow also conducted the "Pit of Despair" experiment, where he isolated monkeys for almost three months, causing them to become hopeless and depressed. The monkeys barely ate or moved, and some even resigned themselves to hopeless cowering at the corner of the cell.
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study
This 40-year study, conducted by the US Public Health Service, infected unwilling and unaware black male sharecroppers with syphilis and neglected to treat them. The cure for syphilis, penicillin, was not given to the participants. Hundreds of deaths and the birth of children with congenital syphilis resulted from the study.
Project MKULTRA
In the 1950s, Project MKULTRA was a CIA project that aimed to control a person's willpower using LSD, electroshock therapy, and other methods. Scientists made Britches blind by sewing his healthy eyes shut for a brain-implanted sonar device experiment. Most of the files on Project MKULTRA were destroyed in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
These experiments serve as a stark reminder of the importance of ethical considerations in scientific research. They highlight the need for rigorous oversight and the protection of human and animal subjects from harm. Today, researchers and institutions strive to uphold the highest standards of ethics to ensure that such events are not repeated in the future.
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