Peter Singer-Animal Liberation

(BlackTrush) #1

sufficientlysevereandenduringearlyisolationreducesthese
animals to a social-emotional level in which the primary
social responsiveness is fear.^8


InanotherarticleHarlowandhisformerstudentandassociate
Stephen Suomi described how they were trying to induce
psychopathology in infant monkeys by a technique that
appearednottobeworking.TheywerethenvisitedbyJohn
Bowlby, a British psychiatrist. According to Harlow’s
account, Bowlbylistened tothestory oftheirtroublesand
thentouredtheWisconsinlaboratory.Afterhehadseenthe
monkeys individuallyhoused in barewire cageshe asked,
“Why are you trying to produce psychopathology in
monkeys? You already have more psychopathological
monkeysinthelaboratorythanhaveeverbeenseenonthe
face of the earth.”^9


Bowlby, incidentally, was a leading researcher on the
consequencesofmaternaldeprivation,but hisresearchwas
conductedwithchildren,primarilywarorphans,refugees,and
institutionalizedchildren.Asfarbackas1951,beforeHarlow
even began his research on nonhuman primates, Bowlby
concluded:


Theevidencehasbeenreviewed.Itissubmittedthatevidence
isnowsuchthatitleavesnoroom fordoubtregardingthe
general proposition that the prolonged deprivation of the
youngchildofmaternalcaremayhavegraveandfar-reaching
effects onhis characterand soon thewhole ofhis future
life.^10


ThisdidnotdeterHarlowandhiscolleaguesfromdevising
and carrying out their monkey experiments.

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