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In 1939, researchers at the University of Iowa conducted a disturbing psychology experiment on 22 children at an Iowa orphanage. Six children who spoke normally were repeatedly told they were developing a stutter. The experiment became known as the Monster Study, one of the most controversial examples of unethical psychological research in American history.

But did the Monster Study actually cause children to develop speech disorders? And what happens when someone in a position of authority convinces a child that something is wrong with them?

In this episode of Pretty Evil, we investigate the true story of the Monster Study, a 1939 speech pathology experiment conducted by graduate student Mary Tudor under the supervision of psychologist Wendell Johnson at the University of Iowa.

Johnson, who had struggled with stuttering throughout his own childhood, wanted to challenge prevailing theories about the origins of speech disorders. He believed that repeatedly labeling normal childhood speech difficulties as stuttering might actually contribute to the development of the condition.

To test that theory, Tudor divided 22 children at the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home into four groups. Some received positive reinforcement about their speech, while others were subjected to criticism and negative labeling. Six children who had no identified stutter were repeatedly warned that they were developing one, and the adults responsible for their care were encouraged to reinforce that message.

The experiment continued for months, but the results were far more complicated than the story most people have heard.

We'll examine the original research findings, why later analysis found no evidence that the experiment caused stuttering, and the troubling behavioral changes documented in Tudor's own notes. We'll also explore why the study remained unpublished for decades, the investigative reporting that brought it to public attention in 2001, and the lawsuit that ultimately resulted in a $925,000 settlement with the state of Iowa.

But beyond the ethical failures of the experiment lies a psychological question that reaches far beyond the laboratory: How much of our identity is shaped by what other people repeatedly tell us about ourselves?

Through the psychology of labeling, authority, self-perception, and internalized expectations, we'll explore how children learn to understand themselves through the reactions of others, why certain labels can become difficult to question, and how even well-intentioned judgments can influence the stories we carry about who we are.

The Monster Study raises important questions about research ethics, the responsibilities of people in positions of authority, and the lasting consequences of being taught to doubt something that once came naturally.

And it leaves us with a question w

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Some details don't make it into the episode. For source material, research files, episode extras, and more to the story, visit prettyevilpodcast.com.