Harlow’s monkey experiment followed the following basic procedure:
- Monkeys were presented with two unfamiliar objects. One led to a food reward, the other to an empty well. Monkeys then had to choose between the two objects.
- This was repeated for six rounds before new objects were substituted in. Repeat.
Monkeys were able to figure out the “rule” that one object yielded food and the other did not, regardless of left-right location. Thus, for each individual choice task, the monkeys were able to learn in “one shot” which object was preferable.
The monkeys in Harlow’s experiment are learning to learn.