Chapter 2: Tools for Research Summary and Analysis

Your Taxes at Work

Experiments on the impact of radiation on chimpanzees were conducted for many years at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas. The testing involved a flight simulator that could be made to pitch and roll. The chimps learned that they could right the simulator to a horizontal position by guiding the control stick. They were subjected to heavy doses of radiation and other chemical warfare agents to see how it impacted their ability to "fly." In the first phase of the experiment, the monkeys were trained to sit quietly in the simulator. In the next phases, the apes were trained to handle the control stick. When the apes were not cooperative at any point in their training, they would be given electric shocks to coax them into the desired behavior. It was...