Things Won't Work Without Love: The Baby Monkey Experiment and the Apple of Potential

"Maybe it's too early for XX to do YY." Have you ever had a conversation or thought like this?

The things you carelessly say can crush a person's potential.

In this article, I will introduce the baby monkey experiment conducted by psychologist Harry Harlow and share a regretful episode of my own, which are things you should know to avoid crushing human potential.

Harry Harlow, the Psychopathic Researcher

Harry Harlow was an American psychologist best known for his experiments on maternal separation, dependency needs, and social isolation using rhesus monkeys.

Simply put, he separated baby monkeys from their parents to conduct research on love.

His experiments even served as a catalyst for the establishment of animal welfare organizations.

Because his research was so psychopathic, learning the details can be quite sickening, so I will introduce them gently.

The Baby Monkey Separation Experiment

Starting in 1932, Harry Harlow separated newborn baby monkeys from their parents and raised them with surrogate mothers made of wire.

Baby monkeys raised by wire surrogate mothers were aggressive and uncooperative; they would not bond with the surrogate, could not integrate with their peers, and were driven out of the troop.

Dissecting the brains of these baby monkeys revealed that the brain cells responsible for secreting the neurotransmitter dopamine had drastically decreased.

The "Brain Reward" of Wanting to Do Fun Things Again

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that is secreted when we experience joy or fun, which is why it is called a "brain reward."

When dopamine is secreted, we feel good or become excited.

Once the brain remembers the pleasure and repeats the same experience several times, it issues instructions like, "Let's do that pleasant thing again," or "Let's try that again."

When the cycle of dopamine being released, feeling "good/fun," and then taking action becomes a habit, humans become able to focus and work on anything.

Unlike the baby monkeys in the experiment, children who received love during infancy know the joy that comes from dopamine, so they become emotionally rich and active.

A Regretful Episode: The Apple of Potential

While watching a YouTube video on how to make an origami apple with my son, who had asked to make one, I jokingly said, 'This might be too hard for you, even for Daddy it's difficult.'

A few days later, while driving with my son, he said, 'If Daddy can't make an apple, then it's too hard for me too.'

At that moment, I realized I had unconsciously stolen my child's potential and felt regret.

I went home immediately, started folding origami, and made it together with him, saying, 'See, Daddy could do it because I didn't give up,' but I must be careful.

Rather than saying to children or people chasing their dreams, 'It's too early, you can't do it anyway,' I want to offer words filled with love like, 'You can do it! You've got this!'

In conclusion

In this post, I introduced the baby monkey experiment conducted by psychologist Harry Harlow and my own regretful episode, which are important to know so we don't crush human potential.

American psychologist Harry Harlow studied love by separating baby monkeys from their parents.

Baby monkeys raised by loveless wire surrogate mothers were aggressive and lacked cooperation; they would not bond with the surrogate mother, could not integrate with their peers, and were driven out of the troop.

Dissection of the baby monkeys' brains revealed that the brain cells responsible for secreting the neurotransmitter dopamine had drastically decreased.

When humans also lack love, dopamine is not secreted, and they become unable to take positive action.

Rather than saying to children or people chasing their dreams, 'It's too early, you can't do it anyway,' I want to offer words filled with love like, 'You can do it! You've got this!'