Harlow created the Pit of Despair to produce an animal model of human clinical depression. Monkeys were isolated in the chambers for up to a year, having zero interaction with the outside world. Expectedly, these social animals came out quite disturbed…

Psych PhD Chris Cole and cohost Joseph Tajaran discuss Harry Harlow’s early life, the multiple versions of the pit of despair he created, and we learn about the reactions to the study. This study has become one of the most infamously unethical psychology studies to date.

Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube.