Monkey Syndrome

[netbuddy]

Ever wondered about someplaces where you work and how or why certain things are never done?
Monkey Syndrome

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a
banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before
long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards
the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the
other monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes
an attempt with the same result, all the other monkeys are sprayed
with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb
the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and
replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and
wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the
other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he
knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it
with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked.
The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with
enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new
one, then a fourth, then the fifth.

Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they
were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are
participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining
monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no
monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana.
Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always
been done around here.

As far as my Psycology lecturer said, this started off as a thought experiment based on observed behaviour in the human population, then put in to practice on our nearest relative and the theory was upheld by the experiment results.

So in the office or workplace, when your subjected to such objections, pass a copy of Jeff's site to your fellow workmates and wake them up to the fact and what they are doing and maybe you can then get people to "Question things" more rather than just accepting that "Thats the way its always been done here..." or beating on people for no good reason.

[drterror666]

Hmm... Moral traditionalism vs moral rationalism.

[wjp666]

what is it with this forum and bloody monkeys?

[drterror666]

It wasn't a very ethical experiment.  I take it was a 50's job?  Is it still relevant in today's society?

[netbuddy]

Yep... it's 100% relavent today.

Does not matter who you are or what job you do, someone will have "Shown you the job" meaning that you were shown how its done arond here... I have seen it at the many companys I have worked at as an employee or as agency staff.

When you become aware of this behaviour, you begin to see it in various forms all around you. People have had certain behaviour modified because each of us have an individual approach to getting the same job done. Most people who are shown how to do a job will stick to that process like its written in stone.

I worked at Lear for a while on the QA Team checking the assemblies were up to scratch. The "Monkey Syndrome" was well engrained in to the work force, you attempted to try or even think about suggesting a better way of doing things, you got a load of abuse or mutterings about "What does he know..."

As for the experiment itsef, possibly, I don't have the exact details of it but its well documented in most psycology books that deal with behavioural sciences.
 

[drterror666]

I am not a monkey.  If someone shows me how to do a job, I try to change it for the better, and I don't give a crap what they think.  I'm even doing it in my present job!

[loulou]

Does not matter who you are or what job you do, someone will have "Shown you the job" meaning that you were shown how its done arond here... I have seen it at the many companys I have worked at as an employee or as agency staff.

How do you work that one out then? No one showed me how to do my job.

[netbuddy]

Well you must have been lucky then. I can not think of one job in my work history that has not had the company detailing "the way things are done around here."

[oldspice]

Well you must have been lucky then. I can not think of one job in my work history that has not had the company detailing "the way things are done around here."

Surely that's perfectly natural? A compnay has its 'house style' - the way it wants to project itself. If they are paying you, they are entitled to detail the way they like things done. In fact, technically, they are legally bound to inform you about how things should be done under the terms and conditions of your employment so that you know for sure what your rights and responsibilities are.

[paulham]

"I don't do conformity, man"

[loulou]

If I pay someone to do a job i tell them how i want it done and i expect them to do it that way. If they come to me and say they have found a better way then i am happy to hear their suggestions and if i agree with them we then will change .

[netbuddy]

Ahhhh, so your a monkey basher then...

What the above experiment details is an established pattern and by that you assume that the reconditioning of the monkeys by experience will have a knock on effect for when a new member is introduced to the pack who is not or ever subjected to the conditioning as is subsequent new members when added. If you repeat the process until all the original monkeys are no longer part of the experimental group, you will see that behaviour has been passed on from the moneys with the bad experience to those who have not had the bad expreienced, this conditioning has been transfered by the exposure to the control group and the fellow monkeys added after the inital group were conditioned in the experiment shows that they know they are not allowed to eat the banana but not why.

The problem with some places of work is that the workforce or certain members of the workforce can then start to suffer from "Purple Monkey Syndrome

@drT - think it was research from the downfall of the Nazi war machine, most of the mind sciences came from that Nazi research and is in use in daily life.

Anyway, keep em peeled, when you see it you will recognise the behaviour and when you expreience it, you will know.

[oldspice]

When I did my MA in Education I studied various psychological theories, as some of them are said to relate to methods of learning (ie Pavlov). I didn't think much of any of the psychological theories. The theorists that most impressed me were people like Basil Bernstein and Paulo Freire who, through their teaching, studied human behaviour and develop theories of language and learning that have had a real impact on my own teaching career.

[paulham]

Well, I still like large breasts.........on women.

[loulou]

It's good to know that.