Harry Harlow 1905 1981 Harry Frederick Israel Harlow

Harry Harlow (1905 -1981) Harry Frederick (Israel) Harlow “If monkeys have taught us anything, it’s that you’ve got to learn how to love before you learn how to live. ” -Harry Harlow This Week, March 3,

�Primate Studies �Maternal Separation �Dependency �Social Isolation �President of APA �“The Nature of Love” 1958 � 1967 National Medal of Science �Revolutionized Child Care �Published Works �The Human Model �From Learning to Love

Harry Frederick Israel �Born October 31, 1905 �Fairfield, IA

Parents �Alonzo Harlow Israel �Wanted to be a doctor �Inventor �Garage and Battery Business �Mable Rock Harlow �Bought a general store �No church

Family � 1 of 4 boys �Robert, Delmer, Harry, Hugh �Most competitive �All attended Stanford University �Delmer diagnosed with Pott’s Disease �Moved to New Mexico

Young Harry �Bored by science �Hated idea of agriculture �Daydreamer, Artist, Poet �Ranked highest in class on aptitude test

Stanford �English major Freshman year �Took notes in verse �Influenced by: �Calvin Stone: Animal Behaviorist �Walter Miles: Vision Expert; Rat Research �Lewis Terman: Stanford Binet IQ Test

Name Change �Influenced by Lewis Terman �Took father’s middle name as last name �Advice to avoid prejudice

Zeitgeist �Telegraph �Telephone �Electricity in homes �Automobiles �WWII

Zeitgeist �Love not subject of Psychology �Loving interaction between parents and children discouraged �B. F. Skinner �Baby tender �G. Stanley Hall �Strict discipline for adolescents �Bad behavior caused by bad parenting

Zeitgeist �J. B. Watson �Scientific standards for parenting �Babies only feel rage, fear, and love �National Congress of Mothers �Raising a Baby the Government Way-Molly Ladd-Taylor �Arnold Gesell �No adopting young

Changing Times �Rene Spitz & James Robertson �Filmed how children were treated in hospitals and orphanages �Foundling home v Women’s Prison �Harry Bawkin, William Goldfarb, David Levy, Loretta Bender �Studied need for love/nurture

Changing Times �William Goldfarb �Wealthy families’ children to orphanages �Poor families’ children to foster homes �Genetics would say that children in orphanages would be more intelligent than children in

First Job � 1930 �UW-Madison �Assistant Professorship �$2750/yr

“They expected to place me in a California junior college, and with every Wisconsin winter, I wish to God they had. ”

First Job � 4 Psychology Faculty � 3 Ph. D Students �Basement of Administrative Building �Made fun of by students �Intolerance of difference normal

First Experiments �Rat studies �Pavlov-esque experiment conditioning cats �Conditioning frogs �Failure ended up in newspaper � 1 st “claim to fame” �Idea for primate subjects over game of bridge

Clara Mears �One of Harry’s students �In gifted program �More than friends �Married May 7, 1932 �Robert Mears Harlow born November 16, 1939 �Richard Frederick Harlow born December 10,

Jiggs & Tommy � 1 st Primate Experiment �Children’s games as puzzles �Shaped holes puzzle � 2 nd Experiment �Bad temper �Finding food under cups

Abraham Maslow �Harlow’s 1 st Graduate Student �Doctoral dissertation on hierarchy of relationships in primates �Ruler and Serf pattern

The Makings of Goon Park � 1932 approved to build outdoor cages �“Accidentally” turned into a building �Reprimanded for building without permission �Gandhi the Spider Monkey ate at dinner table �Allowed poor students to live there in exchange for work � 1933 appeared on campus map

“When we were finished, we were horrified to see how much these Outdoor Observation Cages looked like real buildings!”

Marriage Issues �Clara filed divorce August 14, 1946 �Finalized September 6, 1946 �Clara granted custody of both sons �Moved to Rhode Island to live with her brother

Wisconsin General Test Apparatus (WGTA) �Cube shaped cage �One side opened for primates to solve puzzles �New puzzles �Treats under colored cups �Difficulty progressed �Monkeys can analyze relationships between colors and

Margaret Kuenne �Fellow researcher �Eloped in Iowa to avoid her losing her job �Married February 3, 1948 �Two Children �Pamela �Jonathan

New Lab �Early 1950’s �Old cheese factory �Recruited students to renovate �“Diplomas in Curiosity”

Monkey Business �Breeding monkeys �Diseased monkeys caused for parents’ deaths �Orphaned monkeys would not socialize �Diet or disease? �Babies would not eat �Clung to cloth in their cages �Interest in mother love developed

Contact Comfort Experiment �Cloth Mother vs Wire Mother �Comfort vs Food �Babies choose cloth mother �Reach to wire mother food �Immediately go to cloth mother when https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Or. NBEhzj g 8 I

Issues/ New Ideas �Wire mom’s babies very dysfunctional �Cloth mom’s babies still dysfunctional �Hug, but never hugged �Attention shift to give and take of relationships �Seymour Levine experiment with rats �Overprotection from parent creates rats that cannot function in adult life �Babies need interaction and interest to develop properly

Warmth, Movement, and Play �Hot vs Warm vs Cold Mother �Despised cold mother �Swinging vs Rocking vs Stationary Mother �More movement/interaction=bet ter development �Rough play vs Tag �Taught social skills �Learned nonverbal communication

Peggy Kuenne Harlow �Contributed to Harry’s experiments and conducted her own �Diagnosed with breast cancer 1967 � 1971 finally made Professor of Educational Psychology at UWMadison �Died August 11,

Isolation �Babies isolated for 6 months-1 year �Could not see out of their cage �When removed: �Lifeless �Starved to death if not force fed �Attacked by others because of timidity �Had children �Apathetic �Killed and maimed their children

The Pit of Despair (1962) �Vertical Chamber Apparatus �First few days attempted escape �Learned Helplessness �Lifelong impact after only half of a week

Repairing the Damage �Social Remedy �Re-paired with cloth mom � 30 minute playdate 5 days a week �Study duplicated with living mother �No significant difference between groups �Increased positive effects with increased playtime

Repairing the Damage �Baby Therapists �Isolated monkeys paired with normally developed baby �Baby would cuddle older monkey until older monkey felt safe �Isolated monkeys could return to normal life �Worked for 6 month isolates, not for 1 year isolates �Monkey See, Monkey Do �For 1 year isolates �See other monkeys interacting before real socialization �Eventually paired with “baby therapist”

Critics �Feminist movement �Bruno Bettleheim �Leading expert on Autism in the 1960’s �Accussed HH of creating autistic monkeys with “refrigerator” mothers �HH disagreed and argued for Biology �Possible that Autistic children create “refrigerator” parents �Mother-Infant Bonding: A Scientific Fiction �HH & Bowlby Retort: focus on importance of mothers to development, NOT trying to bind women to the home

Third Time’s the Charm �Remarried Clara �March 1972 � 2 nd honeymoon in England, Scotland, Ireland �Lived happily ever after

�Developed Parkinson’s � 1974 Resigned from UW-Madison �Moved to Tucson, Arizona �The Human Model published �Parkinson’s progressed rapidly �Died December 6, 1981 �From Learning to Love The End

Questions �Do you think that the treatment of the monkeys is justified by the importance of the information gained? �Do you think there was a better way that this information could have been proven? �A proposal has been made to replicate these studies, should it be allowed? �How do you think childcare would be different if these studies were never done?

“If monkeys have taught us anything it’s that you’ve got to learn how to love before you learn how to live. ”

References �Blum, Deborah. (2002). Love at goon park: Harry Harlow and the science of affection. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.