Little Albert Experiment - Ethics

Ethics

Albert was only eight months old at the time of the first test. Because of his young age, the experiment today would be considered unethical by the American Psychological Association's ethic code (see references). Since this experiment, and others that pushed the boundaries of experimental ethics, the APA has banned studies considered unethical.

By present-day standards, Watson's experiment was unethical for numerous reasons. It is now measured immoral to evoke reactions of fear in humans under laboratory circumstances, except if the participant has given an informed approval to being purposely horrified as part of the experiment. Experiments should not cause the human participants to suffer unnecessary distress or to be in any way physically harmed. The welfare of the human participants must always be the paramount consideration in any form of research, and this is especially true with specially protected groups such as children.

Albert's fear was not extinguished because he moved away before systematic desensitization could be administered. It is presumed that, although he still must have had fear conditioned to many various stimuli after moving, he would likely have been desensitized by his natural environments later in life. However, today's ethical guidelines would not permit this study to be carried out or replicated.

A common belief about the experiment is that it was performed without knowledge or consent by Albert's mother. Recent investigation has shown this to be false. However, it would have been a further source of questionable ethics. Researchers today are required to obtain fully informed consent from participants or in the case of children, from their parents or guardians beforehand.