The Dark side of Science: The Horror of the Ape and The Child Experiment 1932 (Short Documentary)

Summary

El experimento 'El Simio y el Niño' de 1931 buscaba comparar el desarrollo de un chimpancé llamado Gua, criado como si fuera un niño humano, con el de un bebé humano llamado Donald. Gua mostró comportamientos similares a los humanos, pero su desarrollo se vio limitado por su herencia genética. El estudio, liderado por los científicos Luella y Winthrop Kellogg, concluyó que la naturaleza tiene un papel crucial en el desarrollo, y aunque el cuidado y el entorno son importantes, no pueden superar completamente las limitaciones genéticas. El experimento generó controversia por ética y métodos, y ambos sujetos de prueba tuvieron finales trágicas.

Takeaways

• 📚 El experimento 'El Simio y el Niño' buscaba comparar el desarrollo de un chimpancé con un niño humano para entender mejor la influencia de la naturaleza y la crianza en el comportamiento.
• 🐵 Gua, la chimpance, fue separada de su madre a los 7 meses y fue criada por la familia Kellogg, que la trató como a su hijo Donald, buscando encontrar diferencias y similitudes en su desarrollo.
• 🔍 El Dr. Winthrop Kellogg estaba fascinado por la posibilidad de que la crianza pudiera superar la herencia genética y humanizar a un animal, basándose en estudios sobre niños feral.
• 👶 El experimento se llevó a cabo con Donald a los 10 meses y Gua a los 7 meses, y ambos fueron observados en su desarrollo físico, emocional y cognitivo.
• 🧠 Se realizaron pruebas físicas y psicológicas, incluyendo la reacción a sonidos y estímulos, la comparación de la densidad ósea y la velocidad de respuesta a estímulos repentinos.
• 🛌 Gua adaptó rápidamente a su nueva rutina diaria, incluyendo dormir en una cuna y seguir un horario establecido, lo que reflejaba comportamientos similares a los de un niño humano.
• 🤸‍♀️ Gua mostró habilidades físicas superiores a Donald, como la capacidad para caminar y equilibrar su cuerpo de manera más temprana, y también imitó el comportamiento humano al andar erguido.
• 🤝 Ambos niños, chimpancé y humano, desarrollaron un vínculo afectivo y se comportaban de manera social, lo que sugiere una capacidad innata de conexión emocional.
• 🗣️ En cuanto al desarrollo del lenguaje, Gua no logró aprender palabras de manera similar a Donald, aunque sí reaccionaba a comandos y era capaz de comunicarse de manera no verbal.
• 🚼 El experimento se terminó abruptamente después de 9 meses debido a preocupaciones sobre el desarrollo de Donald y la falta de progreso en el lenguaje de Gua.
• 💔 La vida de ambos sujetos del experimento terminó en tragedia; Gua murió a los 3 años de neumonía y Donald, a los 43, se suicidó, lo que lleva a cuestionar las consecuencias a largo plazo del experimento.

Q & A

¿Qué fascinación tiene la historia con los niños feral y cómo se relaciona con el experimento del simio y el niño?

La historia ha estado fascinada por los relatos de niños feral, como Tarzán o Romulus y Remus, lo que ha llevado a la curiosidad sobre cómo el desarrollo infantil se ve influenciado por el entorno. Este interés se refleja en el experimento del simio y el niño, donde se buscaba entender si el cuidado y la educación humana podrían humanizar a un simio.

¿Cuál fue el propósito del experimento llevado a cabo por los científicos Luella y Winthrop Kellogg?

El propósito del experimento de los Kellogg era comparar el desarrollo de un simio con el de su hijo Donald, con la intención de entender el impacto del cuidado y la educación en el comportamiento y el desarrollo, y si un animal podría adoptar comportamientos humanos bajo el mismo tipo de cuidado que un niño.

¿Cómo se llevó a cabo el experimento con Gua, la chimpance?

Gua fue separada de su madre a los 7 meses y se la llevó a vivir con la familia Kellogg. Allí, fue tratada como si fuera una niña, recibiendo el mismo tipo de atención y estímulos que su hijo Donald, incluyendo ser alimentada con una botella, bañada, vestida, paseada y jugada con juguetes de niños.

¿Qué tipo de pruebas y observaciones realizó Winthrop Kellogg para comparar el desarrollo de Gua y Donald?

Kellogg realizó una serie de pruebas físicas y conductuales, incluyendo mediciones de la densidad ósea, tiempos de reacción, y respuestas a estímulos auditivos. También observó sus hábitos de sueño, su habilidad para caminar, su desarrollo motor y su interacción con el entorno y con otros seres vivos.

¿Cómo reaccionaba Gua ante el castigo o las repriendas?

Gua mostraba signos de angustia cuando era castigada y buscaba cariño o un beso de los experimentadores como una forma de perdón por sus errores, lo cual es un comportamiento similar al de los niños humanos.

¿Qué diferencias notables se observaron en el desarrollo del lenguaje entre Gua y Donald durante el experimento?

Mientras que Donald comenzó a imitar sonidos y luego palabras, Gua se limitó a oos, ahhhs y gruñidos. Aunque no aprendió a hablar, Gua reaccionaba a ciertas palabras y comandos, lo que indica que podía diferenciar entre ellos.

¿Cómo se desarrolló el comportamiento social de Gua en comparación con Donald durante el experimento?

Gua mostraba una mayor timidez y reservación alrededor de los adultos humanos, pero se mostraba más atrevida e interactuaba con Donald y otros niños. Por otro lado, Donald comenzó a imitar el comportamiento de Gua, incluyendo sus vocalizaciones y su forma de comunicarse.

¿Cuál fue el impacto emocional y social del experimento en Donald?

El experimento parece haber afectado el desarrollo social y vocal de Donald, quien mostró un desarrollo de lenguaje estancado y comenzó a imitar el comportamiento y las vocalizaciones de Gua. Esto llevó a preocupaciones sobre su bienestar y eventualmente al término del experimento.

¿Cómo terminó el experimento y cuál fue su impacto en la vida de Gua y Donald?

El experimento se terminó abruptamente después de 9 meses debido a preocupaciones sobre el desarrollo de Donald. Gua fue devuelta al研究中心 y murió de neumonía poco después, a la edad de tres años. Donald creció, estudió medicina y especializó en psiquiatría, pero terminó su vida a la edad de 43 años.

¿Qué conclusiones se pudieron extraer del experimento sobre la influencia de la naturaleza y el cuidado en el desarrollo de los seres vivos?

El experimento sugiere que, aunque el cuidado y la educación pueden influir en el comportamiento y el desarrollo, hay límites impuestos por la herencia. Gua mostró comportamientos humanos, pero nunca llegó a desarrollar el lenguaje como lo hacen los humanos, lo que indica que la naturaleza tiene un papel fundamental en el desarrollo.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Experimento Ape y Niño: La Curiosidad por el Desarrollo Infantil

El primer párrafo introduce el experimento histórico y controversial sobre el desarrollo de un chimpancé llamado Gua, quien fue criado en un entorno humano para comparar su desarrollo con el de un niño. El experimento fue dirigido por los científicos Luella y Winthrop Kellogg, quienes quisieron observar si el 'criar' en un entorno humano influiría en el comportamiento y el desarrollo del chimpancé. El párrafo también menciona la teoría del 'buen salvaje' y cómo la experiencia de Gua podría aportar a la comprensión de la influencia de la naturaleza y la crianza en el comportamiento.

05:00

🐒 Desarrollo Físico y Comportamiento en el Experimento

El segundo párrafo detalla las diferencias físicas y comportamentales entre Gua y el niño Donald, así como las peculiares pruebas a las que fueron sometidos. Se observa cómo Gua muestra habilidades físicas superiores y reacciones más rápidas, y cómo su desarrollo físico y su adaptación a las situaciones de vida humana se comparan con las de Donald. Además, se mencionan las peculiares pruebas que incluyeron mediciones de densidad ósea y reacciones ante estímulos inesperados, como el sonido de un revólver disparado.

10:01

👣 Adquisición de Habilidades y Comportamientos Humanos

Este párrafo explora cómo Gua comenzó a imitar el caminar erécto de los humanos y las interacciones sociales con Donald y otros niños. Se destaca cómo Gua desarrolló respuestas emocionales similares a las de los niños humanos, como buscar consuelo tras ser regañada, y cómo su desarrollo en habilidades manuales, como usar una cuchara, fue superior al de Donald. También se menciona cómo el experimento reveló diferencias en la habilidad de Gua para resolver problemas en comparación con Donald.

15:02

🗣️ Desarrollo del Lenguaje y Comunicación

El cuarto párrafo se centra en el desarrollo del lenguaje y la comunicación de Gua en comparación con Donald. Mientras que Gua mostraba limitaciones en su capacidad para comunicarse verbalmente, Donald comenzó a hablar y a imitar sonidos, aunque su desarrollo del habla se vio afectado por la interacción limitada con otros niños. Gua, por su parte, mostró un entendimiento creciente de las palabras y comandos, aunque nunca aprendió a hablar palabras humanas.

20:04

🔚 Conclusión y Consecuencias del Experimento

El último párrafo resume los resultados y las consecuencias del experimento, incluyendo la publicación de los hallazgos y las críticas éticas que surgieron. Se discuten las limitaciones inherentes a la especie de Gua y cómo estas limitaron su capacidad para adquirir habilidades humanas, especialmente en el ámbito del lenguaje. Además, se mencionan las vidas trágicas de ambos sujetos del experimento, Gua y Donald, y se cuestiona la ética del experimento en sí, considerando el bienestar de los participantes y las consecuencias a largo plazo.

Keywords

💡criaturas férreas

El término 'criaturas férreas' se refiere a niños que han crecido en el estado salvaje, alejados de la sociedad y a menudo criados por animales silvestres. En el video, este concepto es fundamental ya que establece el telón de fondo para el experimento con el chimpancée, explorando la idea de desarrollo infantil en un entorno no humano.

💡experimento

El 'experimento' es un método científico para probar una hipótesis y comprender fenómenos. En el contexto del video, se refiere específicamente al estudio realizado por los científicos Luella y Winthrop Kellogg, quien decidió criar a un chimpancée junto con su hijo para investigar el impacto del ambiente en el desarrollo.

💡chimpancé

El 'chimpancé' es una de las especies de primates más cercanas a los humanos en términos evolutivos. En el video, Gua, el chimpancée femenino, es el sujeto central del experimento, y su desarrollo y comportamiento son comparados con los del niño humano para entender mejor la influencia de la naturaleza y la crianza.

💡desarrollo infantil

El 'desarrollo infantil' es el proceso por el cual los niños crecen y se desarrollan física, mental y emocionalmente. El video explora este concepto a través de la comparación del crecimiento de Gua con el de Donald, el hijo de los científicos, y cómo su crianza en un entorno humano influye en su comportamiento y habilidades.

💡comportamiento

El 'comportamiento' se refiere a la forma en que los seres vivos reaccionan y se relacionan con su entorno. En el video, se analiza cómo el comportamiento de Gua, el chimpancée, se asemeja o difiere del comportamiento de Donald, influenciado por su crianza y su interacción con los humanos.

💡heredidad

La 'heredidad' es la transmisión de características de un organismo a sus descendientes a través del ADN. El video destaca cómo, a pesar de la igualdad en la crianza, las limitaciones de la herencia de Gua como chimpancée afectan su capacidad para adquirir habilidades y lenguaje como un humano.

💡crianza

La 'crianza' hace referencia a cómo se desarrollan los niños bajo la influencia de su entorno y las personas que los rodean. En el experimento, se cuestiona si la crianza puede sobreponerse a la herencia al criar a Gua, el chimpancée, de la misma manera que a un niño humano.

💡comunicación

La 'comunicación' es el intercambio de información o ideas. En el video, se muestra cómo Gua, a pesar de su crianza en un entorno humano, tiene una capacidad limitada para comunicarse verbalmente, lo que contrasta con el desarrollo del lenguaje en Donald.

💡ético

El término 'ético' se refiere a las cuestiones de moralidad y justicia en la conducta humana. El video plantea cuestiones éticas en torno al experimento, especialmente en lo que respecta al bienestar de Gua y Donald y las consecuencias de involucrar a un niño en un estudio de esta naturaleza.

💡emociones

Las 'emociones' son estados psicológicos que influyen en la conducta y la percepción. El video muestra cómo Gua experimenta emociones humanas como el afecto y la tristeza, y cómo responde a las situaciones de castigo o elogio, demostrando una capacidad emocional similar a la de los niños humanos.

💡problema de la mente

El 'problema de la mente' es un concepto filosófico que cuestiona cómo los seres humanos pueden entender el pensamiento y las emociones de otros. El video, al comparar el desarrollo de Gua con el de Donald, toca este problema al considerar si es posible que un chimpancée desarrolle una mente similar a la humana bajo ciertas condiciones.

Highlights

Historias de niños feroces han fascinado a la humanidad a lo largo de la historia.

Los niños feroces han sido incorporados en la cultura humana desde Tarzán hasta Rómulo y Remo alimentados por una loba.

Los niños pueden verse como una pizarra en blanco sobre la cual el lenguaje, la cultura, la nacionalidad y la moralidad se inscribieron a lo largo de su desarrollo.

Un científico propuso un experimento para criar a uno de nuestros parientes más cercanos del reino animal como un humano.

El experimento comenzó en la colonia de Abe Rú en Cuba en 1930 con el nacimiento de una chimpancée femenina.

La chimpancée Gua fue donada al Centro de Investigación de Primates Nacionales de Yerkes poco después de su nacimiento.

Gua fue separada de su madre a los 7½ meses y enviada a un nuevo hogar para un experimento comparativo.

La familia científica Kellogg adoptó a Gua para criarla junto con su hijo Donald.

Winthrop Kellogg estaba interesado en el 'influencia relativa de la naturaleza y la crianza en el comportamiento'.

El experimento consistía en criar a Gua como si fuera un niño, con la misma atención y enseñanza que a Donald.

Gua y Donald fueron tratados como hermanos, y se observaron diferencias físicas y comportamentales.

Se realizaron experimentos para medir las diferencias en el desarrollo óseo y en los tiempos de reacción de los niños.

El horario diario de Gua y Donald incluía actividades controladas, observaciones, juegos y pruebas.

Gua mostró problemas de equilibrio al andar erguido, pero rápidamente se adaptó a su nueva cama y a las siesta.

Gua comenzó a imitar la forma de caminar erguida de los humanos y a desarrollar habilidades motoras más rápido que Donald.

Ambos niños mostraron interés en el otro, y Gua se volvió cada vez más apegada a Donald.

Gua mostró respuestas emocionales similares a las de los niños humanos cuando era regañada o castigada.

Gua aprendió a abrir puertas y a usar un interruptor de luz antes que Donald.

El desarrollo del lenguaje de Gua difirió del de Donald; ella no aprendió a hablar, pero sí a entender algunos comandos.

Donald, por otro lado, comenzó a hablar, pero su desarrollo vocal se vio afectado por la interacción con Gua.

El experimento se terminó abruptamente después de 9 meses debido a preocupaciones sobre el desarrollo de Donald.

Gua fue devuelta a Robert Yerkes y Donald regresó a una vida convencional.

Los resultados del experimento mostraron que, a pesar de desarrollar algunos comportamientos humanos, la herencia limitó la capacidad de Gua para el lenguaje.

El experimento generó críticas éticas, especialmente en cuanto al tratamiento de Gua y la participación de Donald.

La vida de Gua y Donald terminó trágicamente; Gua murió a los tres años y Donald se suicidó a los 43.

Transcripts

Throughout history stories of humans being raised by animals have fascinated mankind.

The feral children have found their way into human culture throughout the ages from Tarzan

all the way back to Romulus and Remus suckling from a she wolf.

Infants seemingly offer a blank slate upon which language, culture, nationality and morality

are inscribed throughout their development.

Because of this, child development is a miracle of learning, and as such it has not only fascinated

the likes of Rudyard Kipling but also that of scientists.

And one such scientist would devise an experiment, but instead of putting a child into the wild

to be raised by animals, turn the tables and take one of our closest relatives of the animal

kingdom and raise it as a human.

Today we are looking at the ape and the child experiment.

Watch Intill the end to see if you will rate this subject the same as me on my ethical

scale.

Welcome to the dark side of science.

///////

Our story starts on the abreu colony in Cuba 1930, with the birth of a female chimpanzee

on the 15th November.

The baby chimp and her mother and father were donated to the Yerkes National Primate Research

Center not long after her birth.

The research center was headed by eugenicist Robert Yerkese, and was used for medical research

into comparative psychology.

The baby Chimpanzee was given the name gua, and in June 1931, she was forcibly removed

from her mother’s cage and was sent off to a new home at the age of 7 ½ months for

an comparative experiment.

Her new family was scientists Luella And Winthrop Kellogg and their 10 month son Donald.

But before we carry on here’s some background to the Kellogg’s and why this young chimp

came into their house.

Winthrop and luella had married in 1920, the couple had met in Indiana university whilst

studying.

Winthrop was involved in a very diverse set of research topics, but throughout the 20s

focused on conditioning and learning.

He was fascinated with "relative influence of nature and nurture on behavior", and if

you could isolate the nurture element.

What if you could raise an animal, a primate for example, in the exact same way as you

would an infant, would the chimpanzee's development change or maybe even would it begin to act

like a human.

He had been planning the concept of a comparative experiment during his postgraduate days at

Columbia when studying for his masters in 1927.

Kellogg during this time was fascinated with accounts of feral children living with wolves.

He believed the infants learned to live like wolves because that was "what their environment

demanded of them".

Thus if the tables were turned with a wild animal could nurture overrule hereditary and

humanise it.

The birth of Kellogg's first child offered a unique opportunity, and that was to comparatively

raise the child alongside a primate.

Kellogg devised if he could raise a chimp with Donald their son like siblings, he could

then see the nature differences.

The chimpanzee wouldn’t be a pet but treated in the exact same way as a child, they would

be fed by a bottle, bathed, clothed, handled and pushed in a pram like a child.

It would be induced to walk upright at the same time as a child and would be corrected

in its mistakes like a human as well.

The chimpanzee would also be taught and encouraged to eat with a spoon and to play like a child

with children’s toys.

The primate would not be allowed to learn in any other way than the human way, thus

allowing the experiment maximum chance to succeed in creating a human acting chimp.

In order to facilitate his experiment, Kellogg would seek help from yerkes.

He received the Social Science Research Council fellowship to work at the Yale Anthropoid

Station in Florida in order to prepare for his experiment in 1931.

Needless to say this would necessitate the Kellogg’s family moving to florida and not

long after gua the chimpanzee would join the family to start this bizarre experiment.

//////

Gua and Donald were introduced at the ages of 7 ½ and 10 months respectively in the

summer of 1931.

And In every conceivable way the two were treated by Winthrop and luella as if they

were brother and sister.

Straight away the Kellogg’s started noting the physical and behavioural differences between

the two infants.

The former was pretty easy as the two were different species with gua having longer arms

than Donald and much greater physical abilities.

Gua had nearly all her teeth whereas Donald only had 2.

To discover the differences physiologically and psychologically of the two Kellogg thought

up some strange and somewhat cruel experiments.

Kellogg took great interest in the differences in how the twos bone structures developed.

To explore this Kellogg tested the differences by sound by hitting both Donald and guas head

with a spoon, to try and hear a difference in the hardening of the skull.

He found that Donald’s head radiated a dull thud whereas guas made a harsher sound, hinting

at the chimpanzees bones being more hardened.

Bizarrely Kellogg had previously xrayed gua and already knew her bone density was equal

to that of a 2 year old human.

To ascertain the differences between the twos reaction times the Kellogg’s devised an

interesting experiment.

Both Donald and the chimpanzee were placed in front of a motion camera, this was to allow

reviewing the reactions later on.

After the two had settled and the camera was recording a revolver was fired in the air

behind them.

Both were started and it was discovered that gua reacted more quickly than her human sibling.

The experiment was repeated a few months later with 5 other children ranging in age between

17months and 8 ½ years.

The basic day for both test subjects consisted of a 0700 wake up 0730 breakfast, then till

0830 sit with the adults at the breakfast table.

From 0900 until lunch the morning would be filled out with controlled observations, car

rides, outdoor or indoor play, photographing and various experiments.

After lunch at 1215 to 13:30, nap time followed by bath time, milk break and between 1530

and 1600 more experiments, observations, playtime and tests.

To end up the day dinner at 1800 followed by bed time at 1830.

The days would not always run strictly to this plan as the Kellogg’s had various different

engagements.

During the experiment's initial 2 weeks Gua’s reflex behaviour was recorded.

An interesting behaviour was noted, the chimpanzee had issues in her balance after standing upright.

There were two conclusions the Kellogg’s family made about this.

The first being due to her still not being fully developed, but the other conclusion

was that she was becoming disoriented due to having to look up at her human observers

more than if she was in the wild.

Possibly a bit of both as this new environment would have been confusing for her.

////

Gua adapted very quickly to her new sleeping arrangements, a cot was constructed and was

designed to be usable for an infant child with mattress, clean linens and even night

clothing.

When this was temporarily removed her reaction was predictable: she began to cry out in despair.

Guas reactions when sleepy were very characteristic of a human child, when picked up she would

try and cuddle up and when sat up her head would nod down only to come back up started

by the motion.

For the first two months gua napped more than Donald, mainly after meals, as she got older

she slept less in the day eventually getting to the 1 nap as outlined in the daily schedule.

Donald on the other hand was sleeping 2 or more hours in the afternoon nap time.

She slept during the night without issues throughout the experiment, something that

from experience isn’t something that a human child often does.

But as the experiment progressed she started to make a nest with her bedding, a thing that

chimpanzees do in the wild with twigs in trees.

She hadn’t seen anyone else do this and thus showed the behaviour was possibly hereditary

or could be perceived as an infant playing in their bed in the night.

Throughout the experiment both subjects were observed during their physical development,

Donald had a walking aid stroller.

This is because human infants don’t develop walking until 10 months plus.

Gua on the other hand could walk by the time she was with the Kellogg’s, she also had

a stroller but she used it as a toy instead of a walking aid.

Interestingly gua was beginning to mimic the way humans walk, adopting an upright posture.

The chimp was showing a much quicker level of development as Donald for the age.

The experiment continued to observe the differences between the two in the way they interacted

with their environment.

During the toddler months of childhood the beginnings of reading and language start to

develop.

Part of this is the ability to point at things that Interest the infant, and gua exhibited

these behaviours as well.

The two infants almost right from the start of the experiment seemed to enjoy each other's

company, with Donald showing great delight in interacting with his new sister.

Gua would reach out to hold hands with Donald stroking her hair.

As the experiment progressed it seems like the two especially gua had become attached

to each other, always making a beeline for him when he entered a room, and noticeably

got more excited when playing with donald.

If gua was admonished for doing something wrong donald would go up to her and hug the

upset chimpanzee.

As Donald's speech developed he was able to say his sister's name.

When another older child called Martha was introduced, gua behaved simulary by hugging

the 3 ½ year old smelling her and holding her hand.

Interestingly Gua was much more reserved and timid around the human adults, which to me

seems very similar to how some human children act, loud and excited with their peers, but

quiet and shy around adults.

Guas actions around new adults was even more shy and even at some times seemed fearful.

The pair's interactions with other animals was characteristically child-like, with gua

stroking the next door neighbours cat, and having seemling no fear approaching adult

dogs, much like a human child.

But this would change at the age of 11 months, when a puppy barked at her after she had mistaken

the dog running as a game of tag.

From then on she became scared of almost all other animals, including chickens, cats, and

even birds in the trees.

Gua’s emotional responses to being admonished or punished for any number of minor behaviour

infractions elicited an interesting response.

She would noticeably become distressed, and then approach the experimenters for affection

or a kiss, as a form of forgiveness for committing the faux pas.

This is a similar type of behaviour seen in children but comes later on in social development

around the 18-24 month time frame.

This showed that gua was developing faster emotionally than donald, and that she was

learning very human-like behaviours.

She had mastered opening doors, especially a swinging door a month before Donald however

the human subject never managed to open latched doors, a feat gua had accomplished pretty

quickly.

At the age of 1 year gua had figured out that light switches controlled the electric light

bulbs.

As such when an adult put their hand up to the switch gua would look at the light in

anticipation of its illumination.

The experimenters attempted to teach both how to play pat a cake, Donald picked it up

rather quickly and with little prompts happily followed the game.

Gua on the other hand never learned how to play properly even though she was given daily

opportunities to practise.

The two subjects underwent potty training gua had more accidents than Donald and was

seemingly embarrassed when she made them.

Eventually she would indicate that she wanted to go to the toilet by ooing and holding her

genital area.

This would develop to her going to an experimenter and indicating by tugging on the adults trousers.

Throughout the experiment both of the subjects Were given the opportunity to use a spoon.

And like many other observations the Kellogg’s saw that gua was way ahead in proficiency

than Donald.

By 13 months she was using the spoon for self feeding with little Mess in contrast Donald

had mastered the skill by around 18months.

Another test was devised where a reward was placed behind a wire mesh attached to a door

frame.

The only way to get the reward out is via the use of a hoe to drag it under a small

gap in the mesh.

Although both figured out the solution at around 100 attempts gua proved to be more

consistent in her success rate.

The Kellogg’s wanted to probe into a vital part of the human experience next and that

was something That makes us unique language.

But this part would be where gua would fall behind and Donald would develop some strange

new behaviours.

///////

Guas language development differed to that of a human child, in the sense that she would

communicate her wants physically like pointing to her mouth for food.

As we saw before with her potty training the need to empty her bowls was indicated non

verbally.

This was the same for when she wanted to play by grabbing with 1 or both hands her intended

playmate.

She would also pull experimenters' hands to items she needed help with.

The vocal communication gua achieved was limited to Oos ahhs and grunts.

This is where Donald exceeded as almost from the start of the experiment he was attempting

to vocalise his emotions and needs.

This would develop into vocalising actual words, a feat gua failed to reach.

But something rather worrying began to become apparent in Donald in that his speech became

stunted.

This is likely due to his lack of socialising outside of the experiment setting and as such

failed to pick up words discovered by interaction of one's peers.

He was only in possession of around 6 words but he did show signs of vocal imitation,

although not from his human careers but of his chimpanzee sister.

The Kellogg’s noticed Donald barking like a dog to communicate certain emotions.

The child also would screech, scream and even oo oo like an ape.

Gua although not learning to speak words herself she did learn words spoken to her, initially

she would react just to the tone of the way the word was spoken, but she began to show

signs of being able to differentiate between commands.

Initially she would react to no and kiss, but her word reaction vocabulary eventually

expanded to around 95 words including the ability to point out parts of her anatomy

when asked.

Donald from the start of the experiment was slow to learn commands but this is probably

attributable to his lower mobility compared to gua, once he was more proficient with climbing

and walking he would overtake his sister.

Donald’s apparent social and vocal issues caused concern by the 9th month of the experiment

in lullealla.

And as such The experiment was abruptly brought to an end.

Gua was evicted from her human household and sent back to Robert Yerkeess on the 28th March

1932.

From there she would be the subject of a number of other experiments conducted by Robert's

wife Ada.

But what if all the data collected from the study and what was the result of the 9 month

ape and the baby experiment.

Well the Kellogg’s now back to being a conventional family moved back to Indiana and the couple

set about writing a book and publicising their study.

Winthrop’s results showed that he was disappointed that gua had hit a wall of development.

He had genuinely hoped that immersing the ape into the human household would have created

the reverse of a wild raised by wolves child.

It’s undeniable that gua did develop many human-like behaviours such as walking more

upright, being relatively potty trained, understanding a multitude of commands and even showing off

her problem solving skills.

Ultimately gua was limited by the fact she was a chimpanzee and that her heredity limited

her ultimate ability of language.

Essentially nurture can only take you so far until nature catches up.

Initially the experiment went public when an article was published in the American psychological

journal.

It was written in such a way as to appeal to as many people as possible; this unsurprisingly

generated a lot of interest in the press at the time.

And by the time a full book was released in 1933 the study and its ease of accessibility

resulted in polarising opinions.

Many critics pointed out gua being pulled from her biological mother at such a young

age, and the suddenness of the ending of her adoption.

This no doubt must have been traumatic for the young chimp to be ripped twice from her

perceived home.

But the biggest Criticism came from the use of Donald as a test subject.

Understandable after all it was on luella's insistence that the study be terminated.

The extended period of 9 months in which Donald was used in the experiment resulted in his

development becoming stunted.

Needless to say this brings up questions of the study being ethical.

Especially when feasibly a child wasn’t needed for gua to be raised with humans.

A number of the tests throughout the study were questionable where the child was frustrated

in the broom experiment, hit on the head and startled during the gun test.

But how did the subjects fair later in life?,,, well Both participants' lives would end in

tragedy.

Gua would die of pneumonia on December 21, 1933, less than a year after she left the

Kellogg's family and just after turning three years old.

Donald would live to the age of 43 until in 1973 he took his own life.

In all respects he had grown up healthy, studying medicine and specialising in psychiatry.

Whether his upbringing had contributed to his demise we will never know.

Lullea and Winthrop would pass away in 1972.

Now where would you rate this experiment on my ethical scale? I’m going to give it a

5 or a 6.

The Ape and The Child