Little Albert Experiment: How John B. Watson Conditioned a Baby to Fear Santa Claus and Rabbits in 1920

In 1920, the Little Albert experiment was carried out by Johns Hopkins University professor John B. Watson, who built upon Ivan Pavlov's work on conditioned responses. Watson's goal was to instill a conditioned fear in a 9-month-old infant named Albert B., commonly referred to as Little Albert. Initially, the baby displayed no fear of a white rat, a dog, a white rabbit, or a Santa Claus mask, even showing affection for the rat. However, each time Albert interacted with the animals, researchers created a loud noise by striking a metal bar behind him, which frightened him. This led to a lasting fear of the rat, the Santa mask, and even a fur coat. Unlike Pavlov's subjects, Albert's conditioning was never undone, resulting in enduring psychological distress. The identity of Little Albert is still debated; psychologists Hall P. Beck and Sharman Levinson suggested in 2009 that he was Douglas Merritte, who died at 6 in 1925 from hydrocephalus. In contrast, Russ Powell and Nancy Digdon proposed in 2012 that he was William Albert Barger, who lived until 2007 at age 87 and reportedly had a lifelong fear of dogs, though it remains unclear if this stemmed from the experiment. Watson eventually transitioned from academia to a career in advertising. This study is frequently referenced as a case of unethical psychological research, especially when compared to the ethical guidelines established by the American Psychological Association today.