Little Albert experiment

Little-albert

The Little Albert experiment was a famous psychology experiment conducted by John B. Watson and his graduate student Rosalie Rayner at Johns Hopkins University. The experiment was a case study showing empirical evidence of classical conditioning in humans. It was also an example of stimulus generalization.

Background

The experiment was conducted in 1920 and was part of Watson's research on behaviorism. Watson and Rayner aimed to demonstrate that emotional reactions could be classically conditioned in people.

Methodology

The subject of the experiment was a nine-month-old infant referred to as "Albert B." (also known as "Little Albert"). Initially, Albert was exposed to various stimuli including a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks, and burning newspapers, and he showed no fear of them.

The conditioning process began when Albert was around 11 months old. Watson and Rayner struck a steel bar with a hammer behind Albert's head whenever he touched the white rat. This noise frightened Albert and caused him to cry. After several pairings of the noise with the white rat, Albert began to cry and show signs of fear whenever he saw the rat, even without the loud noise. This demonstrated that a neutral stimulus (the white rat) could become a conditioned stimulus when paired with an unconditioned stimulus (the loud noise).

Results

The experiment showed that Albert's fear generalized to other similar objects. He began to show fear responses to other white, furry objects such as a rabbit, a fur coat, and even a Santa Claus mask. This phenomenon is known as stimulus generalization.

Ethical Concerns

The Little Albert experiment is often cited in discussions of ethics in psychology. The experiment has been criticized for its lack of informed consent, the distress caused to the infant, and the fact that Albert was not desensitized to his conditioned fears.

Legacy

The Little Albert experiment is a landmark study in the field of psychology and is frequently discussed in introductory psychology courses. It has influenced subsequent research on classical conditioning and behavior therapy.

See Also

• Classical conditioning
• Behaviorism
• John B. Watson
• Rosalie Rayner
• Ethics in psychology