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Finding Little Albert

Questions. Who was

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Finding Little Albert

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    1. Finding Little Albert Summary of the Historical Research Conducted by: Hall P. Beck Sharman Levinson Gary Irons American Psychologist October 2009

    2. Questions Who was “Little Albert”? When was he born? Where did he live? Who were his parents? What was his real name? What was inside the trunk? Summary of the Evidence Whatever happened to him?

    3. Q1: Who was “Little Albert”? “Albert B.”was the subject of John B. Watson’s famous study in which Watson wanted to show how fears could be conditioned. Instead of having to refer to unconscious forces to explain fears (i.e., psychoanalysis), Watson wanted to show that fears and phobias could be explained much more simply by applying the conditioning principles established by Pavlov to humans.

    4. Q2: When was he born? We don’t know the exact date, however:

    5. Q3: Where did he live?

    6. Q4: Who Were His Parents? No notes kept by Watson and Rayner regarding “Albert B’s” parents No patient records from the Harriet Lane Home

    7. Q4: Who Were His Parents?

    8. Q4: Who Were His Parents?

    9. Arvilla Merritte: White, 22 years old Gave birth at Johns Hopkins Hospital to a boy on March 9, 1919 (Watson’s Albert born between March 2nd and 16th) Both lived on the campus for the 1st year of their lives (making the boy present for the Watson studies) Arvilla’s maiden name: Irons

    10. Q5: What Was His Real Name?

    11. Q: But if his real name was Douglas, why didn’t Watson and Rayner refer to the baby as “Douglas B.” instead of “Albert B.”? Or Why not “Baby A” or “Subject #5”?

    12. Q: Okay, but why “Albert B”? Why not “Albert A” or “Albert X”?

    13. Q6: What was inside the trunk? Arvilla died in 1988 at the age of 89 While preparing for her funeral, two photographs were found inside a trunk owned by Arvilla One photograph was of Maurice; the other of Douglas On the back of the photo was the address of the studio where the photo was taken

    14. Enlargements were made from the video Examinations were made of both boys’ eyebrows, noses, mouths, and chins. The resolution of Albert’s photo was too poor to determine where the eye sockets began and ended and in Douglas’ photo he is wearing a bonnet and you cannot see his ears. A biometric analysis of the two pictures was conducted (a “cross-sectional ratio comparison”)

    15. Summary of the Evidence Fact: “Albert B.” born between March 2nd and 16th, 1919 Douglas Merritte born March 9th, 1919 Fact: “Albert B.” spent his first year on the Johns Hopkins campus Arvilla Merritte was living on the Johns Hopkins campus Fact: Watson stated that Albert’s mother was a wet nurse at the Harriet Lane Home Arvilla Merritte worked at the Harriet Lane Home and since she gave birth to Douglas in March she could have been a wet nurse Fact: Albert and Douglas were Caucasian males Based on the photographs there were physical resemblances between the two boys

    16. Q7: Whatever Became of Douglas? “..I recalled a daydream in which I had envisioned showing a puzzled old man Watson’s film of him as a baby. My small fantasy was among the dozens of misconceptions and myths inspired by Douglas.” - Beck, et al, p. 612 But Douglas never became an old man “After leaving the Harriet Lane Home, the robust child shown in the Watson’s (1923) film became sickly” - Beck, et al, p. 613

    17. Arvilla is buried in Prospect Cemetery in Maryland Douglas is buried in Locust Grove Cemetery a few miles away near the Church of the Brethern

    19. Finding Little Albert

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