Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
Stephen, maybe the emeritus status suggests you have more time on your hands than those of us wasting away, grading essays all day and all night.(ok, and thinking up punch lines for 3 psychologists walk into a barbut that's a triviality that lightens up the essay reading.) ;-) Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 tay...@sandiego.edu Original message Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:14:08 -0500 From: sbl...@ubishops.ca Subject: Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert? To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@acsun.frostburg.edu I continue my lonely toil in seach of an answer, in dank and dreary dungeons, amid flickering candles and moldy tomes. And not a cask of Amontillado to spur me on. On my last attempt I nominated Daniel (1944) as the earliest adopter of the term Little Albert to describe Watson's stolid subject. I now push the boundary another 15 years back. The new candidate is: Clarke, Edwin Leavitt (1929). The art of straight thinking: a primer of scientific method for social inquiry. On p, 16, Clarke says this: In this case of little Albert we have two important phenomena illustrated. First is the conditioning of a stimulus by an unlearred stimulus-response. This is 9 years after the original publication by Watson and Rayner in which we were first introduced to Albert (but not to little Albert). I was not able to discover anything about the author, Edwin Clarke. However, the work is undoubtedly not juvenile fiction as Google Books seems to think. A slightly later source is this: Shirley, Mary Margaret (1933). The first two years: a study of twenty-five babies, vol. 3, p. 209. She says: Whereas Jones saw the babies only once or twice and the Ohio State group observed the baby during only the neonatal period, Watson apparently kept an experimental eye on little Albert for more than a year. [full text at http://tinyurl.com/yhunr7y ] Shirley sounded to me as someone familiar, unless I was confusing her with that kid from Prince Edward Island. Sure enough, the Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science lists her as an American psychologist, born 1899, Ph.D. University of Minnesota 1927, death date unknown. [see http://tinyurl.com/yglwoqz ]. I believe The first two years is her major work, and her adoption of the descriptor little Albert may have been influential. However, I still think that Eysenck's frequent use of the same term starting in 1959 may have been the impetus for its modern use. Difficult to prove, however. Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada --- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
I continue my lonely toil in seach of an answer, in dank and dreary dungeons, amid flickering candles and moldy tomes. And not a cask of Amontillado to spur me on. Oh come on, Stephen. I've lived in Lennoxville (you may recall). It's not THAT bad, even in December. :-) Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ == --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
I said: I continue my lonely toil in seach of an answer, in dank and dreary dungeons, amid flickering candles and moldy tomes. And not a cask of Amontillado to spur me on. And Chris Green responded: Oh come on, Stephen. I've lived in Lennoxville (you may recall). It's not THAT bad, even in December. :-) Who said anything about Lennoxville which, as always, is deep and crisp and even, and lovely in the snow and rolling hills? Everyone knows that the research libraries are in Toronto. Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada --- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
I continue my lonely toil in seach of an answer, in dank and dreary dungeons, amid flickering candles and moldy tomes. And not a cask of Amontillado to spur me on. On my last attempt I nominated Daniel (1944) as the earliest adopter of the term Little Albert to describe Watson's stolid subject. I now push the boundary another 15 years back. The new candidate is: Clarke, Edwin Leavitt (1929). The art of straight thinking: a primer of scientific method for social inquiry. On p, 16, Clarke says this: In this case of little Albert we have two important phenomena illustrated. First is the conditioning of a stimulus by an unlearred stimulus-response. This is 9 years after the original publication by Watson and Rayner in which we were first introduced to Albert (but not to little Albert). I was not able to discover anything about the author, Edwin Clarke. However, the work is undoubtedly not juvenile fiction as Google Books seems to think. A slightly later source is this: Shirley, Mary Margaret (1933). The first two years: a study of twenty-five babies, vol. 3, p. 209. She says: Whereas Jones saw the babies only once or twice and the Ohio State group observed the baby during only the neonatal period, Watson apparently kept an experimental eye on little Albert for more than a year. [full text at http://tinyurl.com/yhunr7y ] Shirley sounded to me as someone familiar, unless I was confusing her with that kid from Prince Edward Island. Sure enough, the Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science lists her as an American psychologist, born 1899, Ph.D. University of Minnesota 1927, death date unknown. [see http://tinyurl.com/yglwoqz ]. I believe The first two years is her major work, and her adoption of the descriptor little Albert may have been influential. However, I still think that Eysenck's frequent use of the same term starting in 1959 may have been the impetus for its modern use. Difficult to prove, however. Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada --- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
Stephen: I have a few speculations to consider.Was Albert from the South? Did the people involved in the study from execution to write up Southerners or had a Southern bent? Could Albert's parents refer to him as 'Li'l Albert which was later changed to Little? There is a video of American tongues about the different ways of speaking in America and you will be surprised as how expressions vary from region to region.It could be that the little could reflect the cuteness of that age and was fixated upon by the editor.Just my take. Please do not address me as Mikey :-) Michael omnicentric Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
[tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
I've been preparing an episode in which I'll be reviewing Hall Beck's recent article, Finding Little Albert which recently appeared in the American Psychologist and I asked Dr. Beck who is responsible inserting the word Little in front of Albert. His research didn't turn up an answer to this question. Anyone have any ideas on where the Little came from? Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
RE: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
Michael - I'll leave that interesting question to the historians on this listserv, but I'll advance one hypothesis (maybe others can confirm or refute): Perhaps Watson was trying to counterpose his case against Freud's Little Hans case of a phobia supposedly acquired through psychoanalytic mechanisms. ...Scott Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D. Professor Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (PAIS) Emory University 36 Eagle Row Atlanta, Georgia 30322 slil...@emory.edu (404) 727-1125 Psychology Today Blog: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column: http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/ The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his intellectual passions. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him - he is always doing both. - Zen Buddhist text (slightly modified) -Original Message- From: Britt, Michael [mailto:michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 8:56 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert? I've been preparing an episode in which I'll be reviewing Hall Beck's recent article, Finding Little Albert which recently appeared in the American Psychologist and I asked Dr. Beck who is responsible inserting the word Little in front of Albert. His research didn't turn up an answer to this question. Anyone have any ideas on where the Little came from? Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments). --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
It was interesting - and sad - reading the information about the child (actually named Douglas Merritte). I always thought his head seemed quite large for his body, and sure enough, it's reported that he died of hydrocephalus when he was about 5. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 9:05 AM, Lilienfeld, Scott O slil...@emory.eduwrote: Michael - I'll leave that interesting question to the historians on this listserv, but I'll advance one hypothesis (maybe others can confirm or refute): Perhaps Watson was trying to counterpose his case against Freud's Little Hans case of a phobia supposedly acquired through psychoanalytic mechanisms. ...Scott Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D. Professor Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (PAIS) Emory University 36 Eagle Row Atlanta, Georgia 30322 slil...@emory.edu (404) 727-1125 Psychology Today Blog: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column: http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/ The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his intellectual passions. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him - he is always doing both. - Zen Buddhist text (slightly modified) -Original Message- From: Britt, Michael [mailto:michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 8:56 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert? I've been preparing an episode in which I'll be reviewing Hall Beck's recent article, Finding Little Albert which recently appeared in the American Psychologist and I asked Dr. Beck who is responsible inserting the word Little in front of Albert. His research didn't turn up an answer to this question. Anyone have any ideas on where the Little came from? Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments). --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
My assumption was that the name was a reference to the case of Little Hans, also. Note that the Watson Rayner (1920) article ends with a discussion of how a Freudian would try to explain Albert's fear as coming from a sexual event. Here is the next to last paragraph of Watson Rayner -- The Freudians twenty years from now, unless their hypotheses change, when they come to analyze Albert's fear of a seal skin coat - assuming that he comes to analysis at that age - will probably tease from him the recital of a dream which upon their analysis will show that Albert at three years of age attempted to play with the pubic hair of the mother and was scolded violently for it. (We are by no means denying that this might in some other case condition it). If the analyst has sufficiently prepared Albert to accept such a dream when found as an explanation of his avoiding tendencies, and if the analyst has the authority and personality to put it over, Albert may be fully convinced that the dream was a true revealer of the factors which brought about the fear. Ken --- Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. steel...@appstate.edu Professor Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu Appalachian State University Boone, NC 28608 USA --- Lilienfeld, Scott O wrote: Michael - I'll leave that interesting question to the historians on this listserv, but I'll advance one hypothesis (maybe others can confirm or refute): Perhaps Watson was trying to counterpose his case against Freud's Little Hans case of a phobia supposedly acquired through psychoanalytic mechanisms. ...Scott Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D. Professor Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (PAIS) Emory University 36 Eagle Row Atlanta, Georgia 30322 slil...@emory.edu (404) 727-1125 Psychology Today Blog: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column: http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/ The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his intellectual passions. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him - he is always doing both. - Zen Buddhist text (slightly modified) -Original Message- From: Britt, Michael [mailto:michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 8:56 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert? I've been preparing an episode in which I'll be reviewing Hall Beck's recent article, Finding Little Albert which recently appeared in the American Psychologist and I asked Dr. Beck who is responsible inserting the word Little in front of Albert. His research didn't turn up an answer to this question. Anyone have any ideas on where the Little came from? Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
Is it because Fat Albert (see Bill Cosby) was already taken? :-} Peter Kepros University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB E3B 2B2 Canada At 09:56 AM 12/16/2009, you wrote: I've been preparing an episode in which I'll be reviewing Hall Beck's recent article, Finding Little Albert which recently appeared in the American Psychologist and I asked Dr. Beck who is responsible inserting the word Little in front of Albert. His research didn't turn up an answer to this question. Anyone have any ideas on where the Little came from? Michael Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
���Ken Steele writes: Here is the next to last paragraph of Watson Rayner The Freudians twenty years from now, unless their hypotheses change, when they come to analyze Albert's fear of a seal skin coat - assuming that he comes to analysis at that age - will probably tease from him the recital of a dream which upon their analysis will show that Albert at three years of age attempted to play with the pubic hair of the mother and was scolded violently for it. (We are by no means denying that this might in some other case condition it). If the analyst has sufficiently prepared Albert to accept such a dream when found as an explanation of his avoiding tendencies, and if the analyst has the authority and personality to put it over, Albert may be fully convinced that the dream was a true revealer of the factors which brought about the fear. That would a considerable advance on the reality of the Little Hans analysis! (Actually undertaken by the boy's father under the guidance of Freud.) The little boy had developed a fear of going out in the street, and a fear of a horse biting him, after witnessing a bus-horse fall in the street in front of him. Straightforward enough, one might think, but that would be underestimating the imaginative feats of Sigmund Sherlock Freud. The analysis reveals that the fear all stemmed from the fact that Hans really was a little Oedipus who wanted to get his father 'out of the way', to get rid of him, so he might be alone with his beautiful mother and sleep with her. Freud acknowledges that Hans deeply loved [his] father, but nevertheless he harboured death wishes against him – revealed, of course, by the analysis. You see, Behind the fear to which Hans first gave expression, the fear of a horse biting him, we have discovered a more deeply seated fear, the fear of horses falling down; and both kinds of horses, the biting horse and the falling horse, had been shown to represent his father, who was going to punish him for the evil wishes he was nourishing against him. Freud tells us that during the single short consultation he had with the boy (with the father present), he disclosed to him that he was afraid of his father because he was so fond of his mother… But that was only a small part of what the boy was told by the father on behalf of Freud, who acknowledges: It is true that during the analysis Hans had to be told many things he could not say himself, and he had to be presented with thoughts which he had so far shown no signs of possessing… In a candid moment not in evidence in his popular works he now writes: This detracts from the evidential value of the analysis; but the procedure is the same in every case. For a psychoanalysis is not an impartial scientific investigation, but a therapeutic measure… In a psychoanalysis the physician always gives his patient (sometimes to a greater and sometimes to a lesser extent) the conscious anticipatory ideas by means of which he is put in a position to recognize and to grasp the unconscious material. The mystery here is not the origins of the boy's phobia, but that for several generations analysts and admirers of Freud could ever have taken this case history seriously. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
Re: [tips] Who put the Little in Little Albert?
In answer to Michael Britt's question, we have a candidate (two, actually). The earliest use of the phrase Little Albert in relation to Watson's experiment that I could find by database searching is this one: Daniel, W.J. (1944). Conditioning a systematic searching response. The Journal of Comparative Psychology, Vol 37(4), 251-263. He said: ... and more to the broader problems of trial and error learning. Even in Watson's case the experiments with little Albert were by no means limited to atomic reflexes. But for the most part the experimental observations have been ... The next most recent was this one: McGill, V.J., and Welch, L. (1946). A behaviorist analysis of emotions. Philosophy of Science, 13, 100-122. They said on p. 115: Thus even Watson makes clear that little Albert´s reaction to the rat depended upon its position and movement in Albert´s space-time situation. Note the mention of atomic reflexes in the Daniel excerpt and the even clearer mention of space-time situation in McGill and Welch's. This seem likely to be clever references to the original Little Albert, whose field was not psychology but physics. But I also boldly claim that it was neither Daniel nor McGill and Welch who were responsible for popularizing the term in psychology. This was the contribution of Hans Eysenck 15 years later. Starting in 1959 there was a flurry of Little Albert mentions in his publications at a time when no one else seemed to be using the term. Given Eysenck's wide readership and influence, this probably was the start of the irreversable linkage of litttle to Albert in the Watson study. His earliest is this one: Eysenck, H.J. (1959). Learning theory and behaviour therapy. Journal of Mental Science, 105: 61-75. The paradigm of neurotic symptom formation would be Watson's famous experiment with little Albert, a nine months old boy who was fond of white rats (44). By a simple process of classical Pavlovian conditioning Watson created Here's another: Eysenck, H.J. (1960). Personality and Behaviour Therapy. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 53(7): 504-508. .The paradigm of neurotic symptom formation would be Watson's famous experiment in which, by a simple process of classic Pavlovian conditioning, Watson and Raynor (1920) caused a phobia for white rats in an 11-months-old boy (little Albert) by standing behind him. So the names and dates to beat are Daniel (1944) as first user, and Eysenck (1959) as first popularizer. Note: I haven't directly checked any of these references, and give them, my own typos notwithstanding, as they arrived from the databases. Stephen - Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada --- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
