Money (1965) - Possibly the Most Unethical Study in Psychological History

In 1965, two healthy twin boys by the names of Brian and Bruce Reimer were born. Whilst undergoing a laser circumcision procedure, Bruce's penis was tragically burnt off due to an equipment malfunction. Dr. John Money, a prominent psychologist at the time, advised the twins' parents that Bruce could successfully be raised as a girl and would never have to know of the fact that he was born as a boy. Bruce's name was changed to Brenda and for the first twelve years of his life, he was raised as a girl. In 1973, Money published his findings and claimed that his study had been successful and that, in terms of gender identity, nurture is stronger than nature.

In 2000, however, Brenda, who had by then discovered his actual gender and changed his name to David, shared his story with the world - a story that was very different from that told by Money in his 1973 publication. David's account of the events that took place during the study included a number of instances where Money had resorted to incredibly unethical methods in attempts to prove his theory of nurture being stronger than nature.

The purpose of this essay is to look into the events that took place during this study, analyse it in terms of its accordance with the accepted ethical guidelines for psychological studies.

Sachin Wijesinghe

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