Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsThe ExperimentClassical ConditioningStimulus GeneralizationCriticism and Ethical ProblemsWhat Happened to Little Albert?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
The Experiment
Classical Conditioning
Stimulus Generalization
Criticism and Ethical Problems
What Happened to Little Albert?
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One of the most famous figures in psychology history isn’t a psychologist at all. “Little Albert,” as he was called, was the pseudonym of a young boy at the center of the infamous psychology experiment in which he was conditioned to fear rats—a fear that also extended to other similar objects, including fluffy white toys and a white beard.
Keep reading to learn more about what happened in the Little Albert experiment, what it reveals about the conditioning process, and why it is considered so controversial.
Verywell / Jessica Olah
What Happened in the Little Albert Experiment?
The experiment’s participant was a child that Watson and Rayner called “Albert B.” but is known popularly today as Little Albert. When Little Albert was 9 months old, Watson and Rayner exposed him to a series of stimuli, including a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks, and burning newspapers, and observed the boy’s reactions.
Naturally, the child began to cry after hearing the loud noise. After repeatedly pairing the white rat with the loud noise, Albert began toexpecta frightening noise whenever he saw the white rat. Soon, Albert began to cry simply after seeing the rat.
It’s a textbook example of how classical conditioning works. In some cases, these frightening experiences can cause a lasting fears, such as withphobias.
Classical Conditioning in the Little Albert Experiment
The Little Albert experiment is a great example of how classical conditioning can be used to condition an emotional response. Here’s how the process works:
Stimulus Generalization in the Little Albert Exerpiment
In addition to demonstrating that emotional responses could be conditioned in humans, Watson and Rayner also observed a phenomenon known as stimulus generalization.
Stimulus generalizationhappens when things similar to the conditioned stimulus evoke a similar response.
After conditioning, Albert feared not just the white rat, but a wide variety of similar white objects as well. His fear included other furry objects, including Raynor’s fur coat and Watson wearing a Santa Claus beard.
Criticism and Ethical Problems With the Little Albert Experiment
While the experiment is one of psychology’s most famous and is included in nearly everyintroductory psychology course, it is widely criticized for several reasons. First, the experimental design and process were not carefully constructed. Watson and Rayner did not develop an objective means to evaluate Albert’s reactions, instead of relying on their own subjective interpretations.
The experiment also raises many ethical concerns. Little Albert was harmed during this experiment—he left the experiment with a previously nonexistent fear. By today’s standards, the Little Albert experiment would not be permitted.
APA Code of Ethics: Principles, Purpose, and Guidelines
The question of what happened to Little Albert has long been one of psychology’s mysteries. Before Watson and Rayner could attempt to “cure” Little Albert, he and his mother moved away. Some envisioned the boy growing into a man with a strange phobia of white, furry objects.
Unfortunately, the researchers discovered that Douglas had died on May 10, 1925, at the age of six, of hydrocephalus (a build-up of fluid in his brain), which he had suffered from since birth.
In 2012, Beck and Alan J. Fridlund reported that Douglas was not the healthy, normal child Watson described in his 1920 experiment.Instead, they suggested that Watson may have known about and deliberately concealed the boy’s neurological condition. If true, these findings would have cast a shadow over Watson’s legacy, and deepened the ethical and moral issues of this well-known experiment.
Takeaways
While experts continue to debate the true identity of the boy at the center of Watson’s experiment, there is little doubt that Little Albert left a lasting impression on the field of psychology. The experiments contributed to our understanding of the classical conditioning process. It also demonstrated that fear could be conditioned, which has helped mental health experts better understand how conditions like specific phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder form.
The Psychology of Fear
4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Beck HP, Levinson S, Irons G.Finding Little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory.Am Psychol.2009;64(7):605-14. doi:10.1037/a0017234van Meurs B, Wiggert N, Wicker I, Lissek S.Maladaptive behavioral consequences of conditioned fear-generalization: a pronounced, yet sparsely studied, feature of anxiety pathology.Behav Res Ther. 2014;57:29-37. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2014.03.009Fridlund AJ, Beck HP, Goldie WD, Irons G.Little Albert: A neurologically impaired child.Hist Psychol.2012;15(4):302-27. doi:10.1037/a0026720Powell RA.Correcting the record on Watson, Rayner, and Little Albert: Albert Barger as “psychology’s lost boy”.Am Psychol.2014;69(6):600-11.Additional ReadingBeck, H. P., Levinson, S., & Irons, G. (2009). Finding little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory.American Psychologist, 2009;64(7):605-614.Fridlund, A. J., Beck, H. P., Goldie, W. D., & Irons, G. Little Albert: A neurologically impaired child. History of Psychology. doi: 10.1037/a0026720; 2012.Watson, John B. & Rayner, Rosalie. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 1-14.
4 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Beck HP, Levinson S, Irons G.Finding Little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory.Am Psychol.2009;64(7):605-14. doi:10.1037/a0017234van Meurs B, Wiggert N, Wicker I, Lissek S.Maladaptive behavioral consequences of conditioned fear-generalization: a pronounced, yet sparsely studied, feature of anxiety pathology.Behav Res Ther. 2014;57:29-37. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2014.03.009Fridlund AJ, Beck HP, Goldie WD, Irons G.Little Albert: A neurologically impaired child.Hist Psychol.2012;15(4):302-27. doi:10.1037/a0026720Powell RA.Correcting the record on Watson, Rayner, and Little Albert: Albert Barger as “psychology’s lost boy”.Am Psychol.2014;69(6):600-11.Additional ReadingBeck, H. P., Levinson, S., & Irons, G. (2009). Finding little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory.American Psychologist, 2009;64(7):605-614.Fridlund, A. J., Beck, H. P., Goldie, W. D., & Irons, G. Little Albert: A neurologically impaired child. History of Psychology. doi: 10.1037/a0026720; 2012.Watson, John B. & Rayner, Rosalie. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 1-14.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Beck HP, Levinson S, Irons G.Finding Little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory.Am Psychol.2009;64(7):605-14. doi:10.1037/a0017234van Meurs B, Wiggert N, Wicker I, Lissek S.Maladaptive behavioral consequences of conditioned fear-generalization: a pronounced, yet sparsely studied, feature of anxiety pathology.Behav Res Ther. 2014;57:29-37. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2014.03.009Fridlund AJ, Beck HP, Goldie WD, Irons G.Little Albert: A neurologically impaired child.Hist Psychol.2012;15(4):302-27. doi:10.1037/a0026720Powell RA.Correcting the record on Watson, Rayner, and Little Albert: Albert Barger as “psychology’s lost boy”.Am Psychol.2014;69(6):600-11.
Beck HP, Levinson S, Irons G.Finding Little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory.Am Psychol.2009;64(7):605-14. doi:10.1037/a0017234
van Meurs B, Wiggert N, Wicker I, Lissek S.Maladaptive behavioral consequences of conditioned fear-generalization: a pronounced, yet sparsely studied, feature of anxiety pathology.Behav Res Ther. 2014;57:29-37. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2014.03.009
Fridlund AJ, Beck HP, Goldie WD, Irons G.Little Albert: A neurologically impaired child.Hist Psychol.2012;15(4):302-27. doi:10.1037/a0026720
Powell RA.Correcting the record on Watson, Rayner, and Little Albert: Albert Barger as “psychology’s lost boy”.Am Psychol.2014;69(6):600-11.
Beck, H. P., Levinson, S., & Irons, G. (2009). Finding little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory.American Psychologist, 2009;64(7):605-614.Fridlund, A. J., Beck, H. P., Goldie, W. D., & Irons, G. Little Albert: A neurologically impaired child. History of Psychology. doi: 10.1037/a0026720; 2012.Watson, John B. & Rayner, Rosalie. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 1-14.
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