John B. Watson
American psychologist and early advocate of behaviourism
American psychologist who set out the behaviourist programme in 1913 and, with Rosalie Rayner, reported the 1920 Little Albert conditioning study. He left Johns Hopkins in 1920 after a scandal and later worked in advertising.
Why this person matters
Watson argued that psychology should study observable behaviour rather than introspection, and his 1913 paper became a reference point for behaviourism. The Little Albert report is still taught as an early demonstration of conditioned emotion and as a case of poor research ethics. Others shaped the work: Rayner co-authored the study, and Mary Cover Jones later tested ways of removing a child's fear.
Main contributions
Behaviourist programme
In 1913 he published 'Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it' in Psychological Review. It described psychology as a purely objective experimental branch of natural science whose theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behaviour, and said introspection forms no essential part of its methods.
Conditioned emotional reactions in an infant
With Rosalie Rayner he reported in 1920 that an infant, 'Albert B.', learned to fear a white rat when it was paired with a loud noise, starting at 11 months 3 days. The fear later appeared with a rabbit, a dog, a fur coat and a mask.
Popular child-rearing advice
In 1928 he and Rayner published Psychological Care of Infant and Child, a widely read guide that advised strict routines and warned against 'too much mother love'. Its stress on emotional detachment drew criticism.
Context and limits
The Little Albert study used one infant and no control subject. The authors write that Albert left the hospital before any removal of the fear could be tried, and the study would be judged unethical today. The child's identity is disputed: Beck, Levinson and Irons (2009) proposed Douglas Merritte, while Powell and colleagues (2014) argued for Albert Barger. Harris (1979) found little evidence of a lasting rat phobia. Watson's 1928 advice on emotional detachment was widely criticised.
In your introductory course
Learning.Appears in the learning chapter as the origin of behaviourism and the Little Albert case, and in the research ethics discussion as an example of why consent and debriefing rules exist.
Related course reading: Psychology 2e, section 1.2. This is course context rather than a biographical source.
Years of active work
- 1908
Joined Johns Hopkins University, where he became chair of the psychology department.
- 1913
Published 'Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it' in Psychological Review.
- 1920
Published the Little Albert report with Rayner. He left Johns Hopkins the same year after publicity about his affair with her; sources differ on whether he resigned or was dismissed.
- 1928
Published Psychological Care of Infant and Child with Rayner.
Sources
- Classics in the History of Psychology (York University), Watson, Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it (1913)Original work. Text passages inspected.
- Classics in the History of Psychology (York University), Watson and Rayner, Conditioned emotional reactions (1920)Original work. Text passages inspected.
- Encyclopedia.com, Watson, John BroadusReference work. Reference article inspected.
- MacEwan University repository, Powell and colleagues (2014), Correcting the record on Watson, Rayner, and Little AlbertUniversity. Abstract inspected.
- Wikipedia, John B. WatsonReference work. Reference article inspected.
- Wikipedia, Little Albert experimentReference work. Reference article inspected.