The 1966 Five Monkey Experiment . This experiment demonstrates social learning and operant conditioning. The monkeys learned to avoid climbing the ladder through observation and the fear of punishment. Over time, even without experiencing the original cold water punishment, the behavior persisted and became a tradition, showing how social... behaviors can be passed down without understanding the original cause.show more

Go to school. Go to work. Don’t be different. Follow your leaders. Don’t be ostracized.

My mom cut the top inch or two off the Thanksgiving turkey before cooking it. Never knew why, it just was. Learned years later that her mother did the same in order to fit the bird into a smaller oven in the basement kitchen (2nd kitchen). 🤷🏻‍♂️

Is this true? I found this, which appears to contradict...

Everything I know is a story.

Monkey see, monkey teach - passing down behaviors, even without understanding the "why."

Have a link to the study itself. Thought it was apocryphal.

They used electric shocks and not cold water. Probably changed the narrative in this video for sensible people who would otherwise cry about the animal abuse instead of talking about the lesson. (Although many animal tests are very cruel)

Whole lotta religious “traditions” like this.

Tradition - peer pressure from dead people. Neither right or wrong, but must always be questioned.

I think that what this experiment shows, unfortunately, is the learned behaviour of punishing others (beating in this case) without having a reason to do so.