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The Monkey and Banana Story with a Moral to Learn

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Overview

The monkey and banana story is a fun and interesting tale about an experiment done on a bunch of monkeys. Children will have a lot of fun reading this story.

  • A funny tale about the monkeys who were part of a social experiment. 

  • This story aims to explain a very important human phenomenon called ‘cultural training’.

Understand the Monkey and Banana Experiment

Have you ever heard of the monkeys and the banana experiment? This was a very important experiment that explained very common human behaviours as well. So, to explain it better to you, we have this amazing monkey and banana story with a moral. This story is not only interesting but also insightful as well. So, let us get started with the story right now.

What Was the Monkey and Banana Experiment? 

For an experiment, about 10 bananas were put in a cage and above them, a bunch of bananas were kept. The cage also had a ladder by which the monkeys could access the bananas. The monkeys weren’t fed for 12 hours and so they were very hungry. So, the strongest amongst the monkeys went ahead and climbed up the ladder. But as soon as he did, the ladder gave him an electric shock and he jumped off. At the same time, the other monkeys inside the cage were sprayed with water.


The Monkey Tries to Climb the Ladder


The Monkey Tries to Climb the Ladder


After some time, a second monkey from the group started to climb the ladder. Just like the previous one, this monkey was also shocked by the ladder while the others were sprayed with water. Pretty soon, no one wanted to climb the ladder and get the bananas, even though they were very hungry.

A Monkey Is Removed and a New One is Introduced 

In the second part of the monkeys and bananas experiment, one of the original monkeys in the group was replaced by a new one. The new monkey didn’t know about the ladder that gave electric shocks so he started going to the ladder to get the bananas. All the other monkeys from the original group started to stop the new monkey and even beat him.


Very soon, another monkey from the original group is replaced with a new one. This time, when the new monkey goes to the ladder, all the other monkeys beat him up to stop him, including the previous newly introduced monkey who didn’t even know what happened when he climbed the ladder. This was a very interesting sight for the scientists.


One by one, all the other monkeys from the original group were removed and replaced with new monkeys. But in the end, not one of the monkeys wanted to climb the ladder and get the bananas because they feared the consequences without even knowing about it. This is a very interesting phenomenon that we also see in humans which is known as cultural training.


The New Monkeys Do Not Climb the Ladder


The New Monkeys Do Not Climb the Ladder

The Experiment Results 

In the monkey and the banana stories for kids, the monkeys from the original group knew what would happen if one climbed the ladder. Every single new monkey that was introduced into the cage was trained by the original monkeys as well as previous new ones. This is very similar to how a new employee in an office is trained by his seniors and the one that worked before him. This process is also called ‘job training’. We tend to teach the others that come after us.

Summary of the Monkey and Banana Story with Moral 

The monkey and banana moral stories for kids teach us all about the amazing real-world process called ‘cultural training’. In this process, just like the monkeys, we tend to teach the others who come after us in any social scenario. This story will help children understand the importance of cultural training in a human environment. Children will have a lot of fun reading this story and they will learn a lot as well.

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FAQs on The Monkey and Banana Story with a Moral to Learn

1. What was the experiment of the monkeys and the bananas?

For the experiment, a group of 10 monkeys were kept in a cage with a bunch of bananas on the top. There was also a ladder that the monkeys had to climb in order to reach the banana.

2. What happened when the monkeys tried to climb the ladder?

When any one of the monkeys tried to climb the ladder, it was given an electric shock. Also, the remaining monkeys were sprayed with water.

3. Why was the new monkey beaten up by others?

The new monkey didn’t know about the ladder and hence tried to climb it. The original monkeys knew that the ladder would shock the monkey and spray the rest of them with water. That is why they beat the new monkey to stop him from climbing.


Overview

The monkey and banana story is a fun and interesting tale about an experiment done on a bunch of monkeys. Children will have a lot of fun reading this story.

  • A funny tale about the monkeys who were part of a social experiment. 

  • This story aims to explain a very important human phenomenon called ‘cultural training’.