The Monster Study - 1939
 |
| This experiment was conducted by speech "expert" Wendell Johnson and led, in part, by graduate student Mary Tudor Jacobs in 1939. Johnson believed that stuttering was a learned behavior, attributed to outside factors, such as constant criticism from a parent to his or her child for even the slightest speech imperfections. |
Twenty-twoorphaned children with no prior speech impediment were chosen for the experiment. Wendell's goal was to induce the disorder in orphans. One group of orphans received praise for positive speech therapy, whereas the other group was belittled, badgered and told they were stutterers. By the end of the study, none of the test subjects in the negative therapy group became stutterers, but the experience caused them low self-esteem and irreparable damage.
David Reimer
In 1965, a baby boy was born in Canada. At 8 months old, during circumcision, his penis was accidentally burned off. The parents visited Psychiatrist, John Money, who suggested they have their baby undergo a sex change. His parents agreed, not knowing that the doctor's true intentions were to prove that nurture, not nature, determines gender identity.
David, now Brenda,had a constructed vagina and was given hormonal supplements. Money called the experiment a success, neglecting to report the negative side effects of Brenda's surgery. She acted very much like a stereotypical boy and had conflicting and confusing feelings about an array of topics.
This caused a devastating tremor through the family. Brenda's mother was suicidal, her father was an alcoholic and her brother was severely depressed. Finally, Brenda's parents gave her the news of her true gender when she was 14 years old. Brenda decided to become David again, stopped taking estrogen and had a penis reconstructed.
Money reported no further results beyond insisting that the experiment had been a success, leaving out many details of David's obvious struggle with gender identity. At the age of 38, David committed suicide.
David, now Brenda,had a constructed vagina and was given hormonal supplements. Money called the experiment a success, neglecting to report the negative side effects of Brenda's surgery. She acted very much like a stereotypical boy and had conflicting and confusing feelings about an array of topics.
This caused a devastating tremor through the family. Brenda's mother was suicidal, her father was an alcoholic and her brother was severely depressed. Finally, Brenda's parents gave her the news of her true gender when she was 14 years old. Brenda decided to become David again, stopped taking estrogen and had a penis reconstructed.
Money reported no further results beyond insisting that the experiment had been a success, leaving out many details of David's obvious struggle with gender identity. At the age of 38, David committed suicide.
No comments:
Post a Comment