The Little Albert experiment was a controversial study conducted in 1920 by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner. It demonstrated the principles of classical conditioning, a type of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a response. The experiment involved a nine-month-old infant, known as "Little Albert," who was conditioned to fear a white rat.
Initially, Albert showed no fear of the rat. However, Watson and Rayner paired the rat with a loud, startling noise (the unconditioned stimulus). The loud noise caused Albert to cry and exhibit fear (the unconditioned response). After several pairings, Albert began to associate the white rat (the conditioned stimulus) with the fear (conditioned response).
The experiment demonstrated that phobias, or irrational fears, could be learned through conditioning. The study is considered unethical today due to its lack of informed consent and the potential lasting emotional harm to Little Albert.
The Little Albert experiment remains a significant landmark in psychology, providing early evidence for the influence of learning on behavior.
