Why Frankenstein's Creature Became a Monster

Frankenstein's creature wasn't born a monster. On his first night alive he was cold, scared and completely alone, and by the end of the book he has killed three people. Mary Shelley explained why in 1818, and her answer sounds a lot like modern psychology: abandonment, rejection, loneliness and labels. We follow the creature through the novel, from Victor running away to the De Lacey cottage, the river, the glacier and the bride Victor destroys, and pair each moment with the science: attachment, Cyberball and social pain, rejection and aggression, loneliness, self-fulfilling prophecies and what early care can change. Psychology here is a modern lens on a novel, not a diagnosis of a fictional character. Every fact is checked, with sources below. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:18 Part 1: Born good 2:38 Part 2: Learning to be human 4:53 Part 3: Rejected 7:31 Part 4: Make me a friend 9:45 Part 5: Who's the real monster? #Frankenstein #Psychology #Explained Sources: The novel, 1818 text: gutenberg.org (eBook 41445); 1831 text: gutenberg.org (eBook 42324) Bowlby and attachment: noba.to (Attachment Through the Life Course); Bretherton 1992, Developmental Psychology Harlow, The Nature of Love (1958): psychclassics.yorku.ca; ethics: popsci.com (2018) Eisenberger, Lieberman & Williams 2003, Science 302:290; debate: Mwilambwe-Tshilobo & Spreng 2021, NeuroImage (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Cyberball meta-analysis: Hartgerink et al. 2015, PLoS ONE (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov); Zadro, Williams & Richardson 2004, JESP Twenge, Baumeister, Tice & Stucke 2001, JPSP 81:1058; Quarmley et al. 2022, Aggressive Behavior (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Cacioppo on loneliness: Cacioppo, Cacioppo & Boomsma 2014 (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov); Holt-Lunstad et al. 2010, PLoS Medicine US Surgeon General advisory on loneliness (2023): hhs.gov; cbsnews.com Bastian & Haslam 2010, Excluded from humanity, JESP; Haslam 2006, PSPR Merton 1948, The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Antioch Review Cooley 1902, Human Nature and the Social Order (the looking-glass self) Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding; Rousseau: plato.stanford.edu; Godwin, Political Justice (1793) Percy Shelley's review of Frankenstein (written 1817): via the Shelley-Godwin Archive and Romantic Circles Bucharest Early Intervention Project: Nelson et al. 2007, Science; Humphreys et al. 2022, PNAS Mary Shelley's life: shelleygodwinarchive.org; Mellor, Mary Shelley: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters StickyBrief: big questions, explained in sticks. Short, fact-checked explainers on history, science, books and the news, animated with stick figures. How we make every video: 1. Research: we start from primary sources, official data and expert work, and check claims against reliable sources, two or more wherever possible. 2. Script: written to answer one clear question in plain English. 3. Fact-check: every number, date and quote is checked again before the video goes out. The sources are listed above. 4. Animation: every scene is drawn and animated in our own notebook style. No stock footage and no clips from anyone else. Got a question you want explained? Tell us in the comments. New videos every week:    / @stickybrief   Follow StickyBrief: TikTok: tiktok.com/@stickybrief.yt Instagram: instagram.com/stickybrief Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61595152576928