I am trying to find out for a class, the identity of the baby known as "little Albert" or Albert B. in the Watson Raynor study done int he early 1900's. I have researched this and outside of going to John Hopkins University in person and looking for records, cannot find out who this child or his mother is. Has anyone else ever found the answer? Thank you. Also if you cannot get through on my above email please use eppsdc@yahoo.com Any direction is better than none, so feel free to send me in one.

-- Diane Epps (diane.epps@mi.ngb.army.mil), September 09, 2004

Answers

You are not the first person to try to establish the identity of Albert B. from the famous 1920 Watson and Rayner study. An earlier researcher studied the records at the hospital in Baltimore. Unfortunately, the researcher concluded that it was no longer possible to establish Albert's identity from the available records. As I recall, this information appeared in a brief note in the "American Psychologist" many years ago. Perhaps someone else can cite a precise reference for you. John D. Hogan

-- John D. Hogan (hoganjohn@aol.com), September 09, 2004.

The article you have in mind is "What ever happened to Little Albert?" and it's on the HTP site at http://htpprints.yorku.ca/archive/00000198/01/BHARRIS.HTM

-- Warren Street (warren@cwu.edu), October 15, 2004.

The article by Ben Harris -- "Whatever Happened to Little Albert?" -- is about the way we tell the story of Albert. It does not address what literally happened to him. The article I had in mind does.

-- John D. Hogan (hoganjohn@aol.com), October 17, 2004.