Under the Direction of Wendell Johnson Conducted a Study That

Essay

under the direction of Wendell Johnson conducted a study that later earned the nickname, 'The Monster Study'. Johnson and Tudor theorized that stuttering was a learned behaviour. The participants were 22 orphans from the Iowa Home. Ten children were stutterers and subdivided into Group IA and Group IB. The remaining 12 children were randomly selected and subdivided into Group IIA and Group IIB. Children in Group IA were repeatedly told, "You do not stutter and your speech is fine". Children in Group IB were repeatedly told, "Your speech is as bad as people say". In Group IIA, the children were told, "You are beginning to stutter and should get help immediately because your speech is getting bad". Group IIB were given compliments on their speech with no mention of any speech problems. Orphan staff members were told to reinforce the treatment. What type of methodology was used in the study? Discuss the ethical issues (if any) attached to this study.