Experiment with monkeys

An Experiment with MonkeysI

Recently learned about this fascinating experiment involving monkeys while attending a workshop on starting a business.

The workshop covered several essential topics, including:

Motivating and Encouraging Your Team: How to create plans and achieve objectives.

Maintaining a Conflict-Free Team: Strategies to keep your team harmonious.

Identifying and Utilizing Skills: How to recognize the best skills of your team members and assign tasks accordingly.

Here’s a description of the experiment, which I’m sure you'll find intriguing:

A group of monkeys are hold inside a cage. 

Few bananas are hanging from the roof of the cage. 

The roof of the cage is designed with a water channel that directs heavy rain or water showers into the cage, leaving no space for the monkeys to escape from the water.

The switch for the water showers is connected to the cord holding the bananas. 

Whenever a monkey tries to pluck a banana from the cord, the water showers are activated, causing a heavy downpour inside the cage for a few minutes. 

The water falls on every monkey in the cage, and there is no space to escape from the falling water.

Investigators decide to beat the monkey responsible for triggering the water fall in the cage. 

After a few days, the monkeys become aware that if any of them tries to pluck the bananas from the cord, a heavy downpour will occur inside the cage, and the responsible monkey will be beaten. 

Eventually, they begin to beat the responsible monkey themselves.

Over time, all the monkeys stop attempting to pluck the bananas from the cord to avoid being beaten by the other monkeys.

Consequently, there is no more water falling inside the cage.

At this point, a monkey is removed from the cage and replaced with a new one. 

When the new monkey tries to pluck the bananas, the water showers are activated, and the other monkeys beat the new monkey.

The investigators no longer need to beat the responsible monkey, as the monkeys have taken over this task.

After a few days, the new monkey also stops trying to pluck the bananas to avoid being beaten by the other monkeys. 

Again, there is no water falling inside the cage.

Once more, a monkey is removed from the cage and replaced with a new one.

At this stage, as the new monkey is introduced into the cage, all the other monkeys start to beat the new monkey, and in response, the new monkey begins to beat the other monkeys.

No monkey attempts to pluck the bananas as they are preoccupied with fighting.

After a few days, the investigators remove the bananas and the cord from the cage.

However, the monkeys continue to fight among themselves, even though the original cause of their behavior is no longer present.

This experiment illustrates the importance of understanding the root causes of behavior and the impact of group dynamics. 

It also highlights the significance of thoughtful leadership in motivating and managing a team to avoid conflicts and encourage collaboration.

What do you learn from this lesson?