Did the monkey banana and water spray experiment snopes?

Claim: A group of monkeys were placed in a room with a banana hanging from the ceiling. Every time a monkey tried to reach the banana, it was sprayed with water. After several attempts, the monkeys stopped trying to reach the banana. Even when the water spray was turned off, the monkeys continued to avoid the banana. This experiment, supposedly conducted by psychologists, was often used to illustrate the concept of learned helplessness.

Truth: The monkey banana and water spray experiment never occurred. It is an urban legend that has been circulating for decades, often attributed to various psychologists or scientific studies but lacks credible evidence or documentation.

Snopes Investigation:

Snopes, a prominent fact-checking website, investigated the origin and veracity of the monkey banana and water spray experiment. The investigation revealed that there is no record of such an experiment being conducted in any reputable psychological journal or scientific publication.

In 2009, Snopes contacted Dr. Martin Seligman, a well-known psychologist who conducted extensive research on learned helplessness. Dr. Seligman denied any knowledge of the experiment involving monkeys, bananas, and water spray. He explained that the concept of learned helplessness was primarily demonstrated through experiments involving dogs, not monkeys.

Snopes also traced the earliest references to the experiment to a 1967 book titled "The Psychology of Learning" by Neal Miller and John Dollard. However, the book makes no mention of the alleged experiment involving monkeys. Instead, it discusses a similar experiment conducted by Miller and Dollard involving rats receiving electric shocks.

Conclusion:

Based on the thorough investigation conducted by Snopes and the lack of credible evidence, it is concluded that the monkey banana and water spray experiment never took place. It is an urban legend that has been misattributed to psychologists and used as an example of learned helplessness, but it has no basis in actual scientific research.