Little Albert: Ethics and Pragmatics

Abstract

The modern quest to uncover the historical outcome of Watson’s Little
Albert is scrutinized through a pragmatic lens and found to be of nominal
scientific worth. The Douglass Merritte hypothesis and the Albert Barger
hypothesis both have strong supporting evidence, but key flaws in
their positions exist which cannot withstand pure scientific rigor. If the
identity of Little Albert cannot be proven with absolute certainty, then
the only field in which this study has any substantive worth is in the field
of scientific ethics. This study is helpful in illuminating the contextual
nature of scientific ethics. It serves as a historical tether emphasizing the
ethical evolution of the field of psychology and as a cautionary tale that
articulates the importance of tempering scientific inquiry with ethical
questions.