Monsterxxxperiment [patched] 99%

Children in the control groups who were praised showed no negative effects. One child who already stuttered but received positive feedback actually improved.

In 1939, a young graduate student named Mary Tudor embarked on a research project in Davenport, Iowa, under the supervision of her mentor, famed speech pathologist Dr. Wendell Johnson. Her goal was to test a theory about the causes of stuttering. But the method she used would later earn the experiment a chilling nickname: The Monster Study.

In 2007, six of the surviving subjects, now elderly, filed a lawsuit against the State of Iowa for the psychological trauma they had endured as children. They told heart-wrenching stories of lifelong speech struggles and a deep-seated fear of talking in public. monsterxxxperiment

The study was complete. But then—nothing happened. The results were never formally published. Wendell Johnson moved on to a long, distinguished career, authoring textbooks and becoming a beloved figure in speech pathology. Mary Tudor became a teacher. The orphanage's records were sealed. For over 60 years, the "Davenport Experiment" remained a secret, buried in the University of Iowa's archives.

But the story also has a complex legacy for stuttering therapy. While Johnson's methods were monstrous, his turned out to be partially correct. It is now widely accepted that parental anxiety and negative labeling can exacerbate childhood disfluencies. Modern speech therapy focuses on reducing anxiety and creating a supportive, non-judgmental environment—the exact opposite of what Tudor did. Children in the control groups who were praised

"I just wanted to hide," said one subject, Mary Nixon. "I was afraid to say anything because I thought it would be wrong."

The State of Iowa settled the lawsuit in 2007 for $925,000—a fraction of what was sought, but an official acknowledgment of wrongdoing. The university did not admit liability but expressed "deep regret" for the pain caused. The Monster Study is now a foundational case in the history of research ethics. It directly contributed to the creation of modern Informed Consent rules and the necessity of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). Today, no university would ever approve an experiment that intentionally harms children, especially by trying to induce a psychological disorder. Wendell Johnson

Mary Tudor concluded her thesis with a disturbing observation: The experiment had succeeded in creating "a condition in the child which seems to be the beginning of a real stuttering problem."