The Little Albert Experiment was a psychological study conducted by John Broadus Watson in 1920. Watson aimed to prove that human behavior and fear can be conditioned. He chose a 9-month-old baby, known as Little Albert, as his subject. The experiment involved exposing the baby to various stimuli, including loud noises and a white, hairy mouse, to condition fear. The study showed that the baby could be conditioned to fear certain objects, including the mouse, due to the association with the loud noise.
The experiment was conducted in three phases, with the baby's reactions observed and recorded. The results showed that the baby was not initially afraid of the mouse but became fearful after the conditioning. The experiment also demonstrated that the baby's fear could be generalized to other objects that resembled the mouse.
The experiment was widely criticized for its ethics, and Watson was eventually expelled from the university where he conducted the study. The baby's real name was later revealed to be William Albert, and he lived a long and healthy life, despite having an aversion to animals. The Little Albert Experiment remains one of the most famous and influential studies in the history of psychology.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Little Albert experiment was a psychological experiment conducted in 1920 by John Broadus Watson.
2. The experiment aimed to condition fear in a 9-month-old baby, known as Little Albert.
3. The baby was exposed to various stimuli, including loud noises, strange objects, and animals.
4. The experiment was conducted at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in the United States.
5. The baby was conditioned to fear a white, hairy mouse by associating it with a loud noise.
6. The baby eventually became afraid of anything white and furry, including a Santa Claus mask.
7. The experiment lasted for almost a year and was widely criticized for its ethics.
8. The baby's real name was William Albert Barger, and his mother was a nurse who worked at the hospital.
9. William Albert Barger lived a long and healthy life, but had an aversion to animals.
10. The experiment was not reversed, and the baby was left with a conditioned fear.
11. The experiment was conducted without the mother's knowledge or consent.
12. The documents related to the experiment were burned, making it difficult to determine the full extent of the experiment's impact on the child.
13. William Albert Barger passed away in 2007 at the age of 88.