The”Little Albert” experiment was a famous psychology experiment conducted by behaviourist John B. Watson and grad student Rosalie Rayner. Formerly, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov had conducted experiments demonstrating that the conditioning procedure in dogs. Watson was in taking Pavlov’s research to demonstrate that reactions may be conditioned in people interested.

A Closer Look

The participant in the experiment was a kid that Rayner and Watson Known as”Albert B.” but is known popularly today as Little Albert. Watson and Rayner subjected the child to a succession of stimuli including masks, a rabbit, a monkey, a rat, and burning papers and noticed that the boy’s reactions. The boy showed no fear of some of the items.

The time Albert was subjected Watson made a Sound, to the rat By hitting on a metal pipe. Naturally, after hearing the sound, the child started to cry. After pairing the rat after viewing the rat Albert started to cry.

Rayner and Watson wrote:

“The minute that the rat was revealed, the infant started to cry. Almost Immediately he turned sharply to the left, fell over on [his] left side, raised himself on all fours and started to crawl away so quickly that he had been captured with difficulty before reaching the border of the desk.”
Elements of Classical Conditioning in the Little Albert Experiment

An example is presented by the Little Albert experiment.

• Neutral Stimulus: The white rat
• Unconditioned Stimulus: The loud Sound
• Unconditioned Response: Panic
• Conditioned Stimulus: The white rat
• Conditioned Response: Fear

Stimulus Generalization at the Little Albert Experiment

Besides demonstrating that responses could be Conditioned in people, Rayner and Watson observed that stimulation generalization had happened. After conditioning, Albert feared not only the rat but a variety of white objects. His fear contained furry items including Watson and Raynor’s fur coat.
Criticisms of the Little Albert Experiment

While the experiment is and is one of psychology included in the introductory psychology course, it has been criticized for many reasons. First, procedure and the design weren’t carefully constructed. Rather than relying on their interpretations, Watson and Rayner didn’t create an objective method to evaluate the reactions of Albert. Second, ethical concerns are also raised by the experiment. Because it would be unethical, the Little Albert experiment couldn’t be conducted by the standards of today.

What Ever Happened to Little Albert?

The question of what happened to Little Albert has been among psychology’s mysteries. Rayner and Watson were not able to try to get rid of the boy fear because he moved with his mother after the experiment ended. The boy becoming a man with a phobia of furry items was envisioned by some.

However, the boy called Little Albert’s identity and fate has been discovered. As mentioned in American Psychologist, a seven-year search headed by psychologist P. Beck led to the discovery. After tracking down and finding the identity of the boy’s mother and the experiments, it was suggested that Little Albert was a boy.

The story doesn’t have a happy ending. Douglas died Age of six a build-up of fluid in his mind, of hydrocephalus. “Our search of seven years was more than the small boy’s life,” Beck wrote of this discovery.

In Alan J. Fridlund, Beck and 2012 released their discovery that Douglas Merritte wasn’t the”healthy” and”normal” kid that Watson clarified in his 1920 experiment. They discovered that Merritte presented persuasive evidence that the boy’s condition was known about by Watson and misrepresented the condition of their child’s health and had suffered from hydrocephalus because of birth. These findings not only cast a shadow but they also deepen this experiment’s moral and ethical issues.

In 2014, doubt was cast over Fridlund’s and Beck findings when Researchers presented evidence that a boy by the name of William Barger was the Little Albert. Barger was born to some wet-nurse who worked as Merritte’s mother in the hospital. His name knew him his life, while his name was William.

While experts continue to debate with the identity of the boy Centre of Watson’s experiment, there’s little doubt that Little Albert Left a lasting impression.