Crucial details of the Little Albert experiment remain unclear or in dispute, such as who the child was, whether he had any neurological conditions and why the boy was removed from the experiment, possibly by his mother, before the researchers could attempt to reverse his learned fears. Also uncertain is whether he experienced any long-term effects of his experience.

1. Psychologyhasstruggledforacenturyto make sense of the mindne
Crucial detailsof the Little Albertexperimentremainunclearorindispute,suchaswhothe child
was,whetherhe hadany neurological conditionsandwhythe boywasremovedfromthe
experiment,possiblybyhismother,beforethe researcherscouldattempttoreverse hislearned
fears.Alsouncertainiswhetherhe experiencedanylong-termeffectsof hisexperience.
Although experimentalpsychologyoriginatedinGermanyin1879, Watson’snotoriousstudy
foreshadowedamessy,contentiousapproachtothe “science of us” that hasplayedoutoverthe last
100 years. Warringscientifictribesarmedwithclashingassumptionsabouthow peoplethinkand
behave have struggledfordominanceinpsychologyandothersocial sciences.Some have achieved
great influence andpopularity,atleastfora while.Othershave toiledinrelative obscurity.
Competingtribeshave rarelyjoinedforcestodeveloporintegrate theoriesabouthow we thinkor
whywe do whatwe do;such effortsdon’t attract muchattention.
But Watson,whohad a secondcareer as a successful advertisingexecutive,knew how tograbthe
spotlight.He pioneeredafielddubbedbehaviorism, the studyof people’sexternalreactionsto
specificsensationsandsituations.Only behaviorcountedinWatson’sscience.Unobservable
thoughtsdidn’tconcernhim.
Evenas behaviorismtookcenterstage — Watsonwrote a best-sellingbookonhow toraise children
basedon conditioningprinciples — some psychologistsaddressedmental life. Americanpsychologist
Edward Tolmanconcludedthatrats learnedthe spatial layoutof mazesbyconstructinga“cognitive
map” of theirsurroundings (SN:3/29/47, p. 199). Beginninginthe 1910s, Gestaltpsychologists
studiedhowwe perceivewholesdifferentlythanthe sumof theirparts,such as,dependingonyour
perspective,seeingeitheragobletorthe profilesof twofacesinthe foregroundof a drawing(SN:
5/18/29, p. 306).
Andstartingat the turn of the 20th century, SigmundFreud,the founderof psychoanalysis,exerted
a major influence onthe treatmentof psychological ailmentsthroughhiswritingsontopicssuchas

2. unconscious conflicts,neurosesandpsychoses(SN:7/9/27,p. 21). Freudiancliniciansguidedthe
draftingof the AmericanPsychiatricAssociation’sfirst official classificationsystemformental
disorders.Latereditionsof the psychiatric“bible”dropped Freudian conceptsasunscientific— he
had basedhisideasonanalysesof himselfandhispatients,notonlabstudies.
ShortlyafterFreud’sintellectual starrose,sodidthat of Harvard University psychologistB.F.Skinner,
whocouldtrace hisacademiclineage backtoWatson’s behaviorism.Byplacingratsandpigeonsin
conditioningchambersknownasSkinnerboxes,Skinnerstudiedhow the timingandrate of rewards
or punishmentsaffectanimals’abilitytolearnnew behaviors.He found,forinstance,thatregular
rewardsspeeduplearning,whereasintermittentrewardsproduce behaviorthat’shardtoextinguish
inthe lab.He alsostirredupcontroversybycallingfree will anillusionandimaginingautopian
society inwhichcommunitiesdoledoutrewardstoproduce well-behavedcitizens.
Skinner’sideas,and behaviorismingeneral,lostfavorbythe late 1960s (SN:9/11/71, p.166).
Scientistsbegantoentertain the ideathatcomputations,orstatistical calculations,inthe brain
mightenable thinking.
At the same time,some psychologistssuspectedthathumanjudgmentsreliedonfaultymental
shortcutsrather thancomputer-likedatacrunching. Research onallegedlyrampantflawsinhow
people make decisionsindividuallyandinsocial situationsshottoprominence inthe 1970s and
remains populartoday.Inthe lastfewdecades,anopposingline of researchhasreportedthat
instead,peoplerendergoodjudgmentsbyusingsimple rulesof thumbtailoredtorelevant
situations.
Startinginthe 1990s, the science of us branched outin new directions.Progresshasbeenmade in
studyinghowemotionalproblemsdevelopoverdecades,how people innon-Westerncultures think
and whydeathslinkedtodespairhave steadilyriseninthe UnitedStates.Scientificattentionhas
alsobeenredirectedtofindingnew,more precisewaystodefine mental disorders.
No unifiedtheoryof mindandbehaviorunitesthese projects.For now,associal psychologists
WilliamSwannof the Universityof Texas atAustinandJolandaJettenof the Universityof
QueenslandinAustraliawrote in2017, perhapsscientistsshouldbroadentheirperspectivesto
“witnessthe numerousstrikingandingeniouswaysthatthe humanspiritassertsitself.”
Revolutionandrationality
Today’sfocuson studyingpeople’sthoughtsandfeelingsaswell astheir behaviorscanbe tracedto
a “cognitive revolution”thatbeganinthe mid-20thcentury.
The rise of increasingly powerful computersmotivatedthe ideathatcomplex programsinthe brain
guide “informationprocessing”sothatwe can make sense of the world.These neural programs,or
setsof formal rules,provideframeworksforrememberingwhatwe’ve done,learninganative

3. language and performingothermental feats,anew breedof cognitive andcomputerscientists
argued(SN:11/26/88, p. 345).
Economists adaptedthe cognitive science approachtotheirownneeds.Theywere already
convincedthatindividualscalculatecostsandbenefitsof everytransactioninthe mostself-serving
wayspossible — orshoulddoso butcan’t due to human mental limitations.Financial theorists
boughtintothe latterargumentand begancreatingcost-benefitformulasforinvestingmoneythat
are far toocomplex foranyone tothinkup,much less calculate,ontheirown.EconomistHarry
Markowitzwonthe Nobel Memorial Prize inEconomicSciencesin1990 for hissetof mathematical
rules,introducedin1952, to allocate aninvestor’smoneytodifferentassets,withmore cashgoing
to betterandsaferbets.
But inthe 1970s, psychologistsbeganconductingstudiesdocumentingthatpeople rarelythink
accordingto rational rulesof logicbelovedbyeconomists.PsychologistsDaniel Kahnemanof
PrincetonUniversity,whoreceivedthe Nobel MemorialPrize inEconomicSciencesin2002, and
AmosTversky of StanfordUniversityfoundedthatareaof research,at firstcalledheuristics(meaning
mental shortcuts) andbiases.of the mostinfamous psychology experimentseverconducted
involvedacarefullyplannedformof childabuse.The studyrestedona simple schemethatwould
nevergetapprovedorfundedtoday.In1920, tworesearchersreportedthattheyhadrepeatedly
startledanunsuspectinginfant,whocame tobe knownas Little Albert,tosee if he couldbe
conditionedlike Pavlov’sdogs.
PsychologistJohnWatsonof JohnsHopkinsUniversityandhisgraduate studentRosalie Rayner
viewedtheirlaboratoryfearfestasa steptowardstrengtheningabranch of natural science able to
predictandcontrol the behaviorof people andotheranimals.
At first, the 9-month-oldboy,identifiedas AlbertB.,satplacidlywhenthe researchersplaceda
white ratin frontof him.Inteststwo monthslater,one researcherpresentedthe rodent,andjustas
the childbroughthishand to petit,the otherscientiststoodbehindAlbertand clangedametal rod
witha hammer.Theirgoal:to see if a childcouldbe conditionedtoassociate anemotionallyneutral
white ratwitha scary noise,justas Russian physiologistIvanPavlovhadtraineddogstoassociate
the meaninglessclicksof a metronome withthe joyof beingfed.
Pavlov’sdogsslobberedatthe mere soundof a metronome.Likewise,LittleAlberteventuallycried
and recoiledatthe mere sightof a white rat.The boy’sconditionedfearwasn’tconfinedtorodents.
He got upsetwhenpresentedwithotherfurrythings — a rabbit,a dog,a furcoat anda SantaClaus
maskwitha fuzzy beard.