Finding Little Albert: Adventures In The Search For Psychology’s Lost Boy

Hall P. Beck, PhDAppalachian State University

Simple In Concept But Complex In Execution

1. Learn as much as possible about Albert.

2. Find an individual matching these attributes.

What We Learned: Watson’s Writings

1. Albert’s mother worked in the Harriet Lane Home.

2. She was a wet nurse.

3. The study was conducted in the winter of 1919-1920.

4. Albert was first tested at 8 months 26 days of age.

5. He was lasted tested at 12 months 21 days of age.

6. Albert was born in the maternity ward at Johns Hopkins.

7. He lived almost his entire first year at Harriet Lane.

What We Learned: Additional Discoveries

1. No more than 4 wet nurses concurrently resided at the Harriet Lane Home.

2. Albert appears to be Caucasian.

3. The baseline was filmed (8 months, 26 days of age).

4. Watson’s correspondence indicates that baseline was filmed between November 28 and December 12, 1919.

What We Learned: Additional Discoveries

1. No more than 4 wet nurses resided at Harriet Lane.

2. Albert appears to be Caucasian.

3. The baseline was filmed (8 months, 26 days of age).

4. Watson’s correspondence indicates baseline filmed between November 28 and December 12, 1919.

5. Albert was born between March 2 and March 16, 1919.

The Hard Part: Finding An Individual Who Matched These Attributes

1. No employee records

2. No patient records.

3. Watson burned his papers shortly before his death.

The Hard Part: Finding An Individual Who Matched These Attributes

1. No employee records

2. No patient records.

3. Watson burned his papers shortly before his death.

4. Census

To Find Albert You Must Go To Granada

Granada Sharman

Johns Hopkins Hospital: 1920 Census

Three Foster Mothers, A Sleuth And A Grandson

Pearl Barger

Ethel Carter

Arvilla Merritte

Kristen Gary

Landmarks in Arvilla Irons Merritte’s Life

1898: Born in New Jersey. Moved to Virginia early 20th century.

1915: Maurice Irons born.

1919: Douglas Merritte born. Arvilla works at the Harriet Lane.

Early 1920s: Arvilla and Douglas move in with Brashears.

1926: Arvilla marries Wilbur Hood.

1939: Gwendolyn born.

1988: Arvilla dies at 89 years of age.

Albert

Figure 1. Albert at 8 months and 26 days of age. Possibilities of a confirmatory and disconfirmatory analyses.

Douglas-Albert

Figure 2. Close-up of Douglas on the left, his age is unknown. Close-up of Albert on the right, he is 8 months and 26 days of age.

Comparisons of Albert’s And Douglas’s Mothers

1. Albert’s mother and Arvilla worked at Harriet Lane Home in the winter of 1919-1920.

2. Albert’s mother and Arvilla lived on the Hopkins campus.

3. Albert’s mother and Arvilla were wet nurses.

4. There were probably no more than four wet nurses concurrently residing at Harriet Lane.

Comparisons of Albert And Douglas

1. Albert and Douglas were born in the maternity ward at Johns Hopkins.

2. Like Albert, Douglas spent almost his entire first year at the Harriet Lane Home.

3. Like Albert, Douglas left Hopkins during the early 1920s

Comparisons of Albert And Douglas

4. Albert and Douglas were Caucasian males.

5. Albert was born between March 2 and March 16, 1919. Douglas was born on March 9, 1919.

6. Visual inspection and biometric analyses of Douglas’ portrait and the Little Albert film reveal “facial similarities” and that they “could be the same individual.”

Epilogue To A Quest

New Discoveries And Two New Colleagues

Alan Bill Gary

For Additional Information About Albert-Douglas

Beck, H. P., Levinson, S. & Irons, G. (2009). Finding Little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s

infant laboratory, American Psychologist, 64, 605-614.

Fridlund, A. J., Beck, H. P., Goldie, W. D., & Irons, G. (2012, January 23). Little Albert: A Neurologically Impaired Child. History of Psychology. Advance online publication.

http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2010/01/episode-114-video-finding-little-albert/