John Broadus Watson
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John Broadus Watson (January 9, 1878 – September 25, 1958) was an American psychologist who popularized the
scientific theory A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the universe, natural world that can be or that has been reproducibility, repeatedly tested and has corroborating evidence in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocol (s ...
of
behaviorism Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
, establishing it as a psychological school.Cohn, Aaron S. 2014.
Watson, John B.
" Pp. 1429–1430 in ''The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia'', edited by M. J. Coleman and L. H. Ganong. Thousand Oaks, CA:
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. Retrieved May 16, 2020. . .
Watson advanced this change in the psychological discipline through his 1913 address at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, titled ''Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It''. Through his behaviorist approach, Watson conducted research on animal behavior, child rearing, and advertising, as well as conducting the controversial " Little Albert" experiment and the Kerplunk experiment. He was also the editor of ''
Psychological Review ''Psychological Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers psychological theory. It was established by James Mark Baldwin (Princeton University) and James McKeen Cattell (Columbia University) in 1894 as a publication vehic ...
'' from 1910 to 1915. A ''
Review of General Psychology ''Review of General Psychology'' is the quarterly scientific journal of the American Psychological Association Division 1: The Society for general psychology. The journal publishes cross-disciplinary psychological articles that are conceptual, theo ...
'' survey, published in 2002, ranked Watson as the 17th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.


Biography


Early life

He was born on January 9, 1878. His father, Pickens Butler Watson, was an alcoholic and left the family to live with two Indian women when John was 13 years old—a transgression which he never forgave.Hothersall, D. (2004). ''History of Psychology''. Boston:
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His mother, Emma Kesiah Watson (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Roe), was a very religious woman who adhered to prohibitions against drinking, smoking, and dancing, naming her son John after a prominent Baptist minister in hopes that it would help him receive the call to preach the Gospel. In bringing him up, she subjected Watson to harsh religious training that later led him to develop a lifelong antipathy toward all forms of religion and to become an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
. Kimble, Gregory A.,
Michael Wertheimer Michael Wertheimer (born February 6, 1957) is a cryptologic mathematician. From October 31, 2005, until June 2009, he was the assistant deputy director and chief technology officer of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for Analys ...
, and Charlotte White. 201
Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology
Psychology Press. "Watson's outspoken atheism repelled many in Greensville." (p. 175).
Martin, Michael. 2006
''The Cambridge Companion to Atheism''
Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
. "Among celebrity atheists with much biographical data, we find leading psychologists and psychoanalysts. We could provide a long list, including…John B. Watson." (p. 310).
In an attempt to escape poverty, Watson's mother sold their farm and brought Watson to
Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...
, to provide him a better opportunity for success. Moving from an isolated, rural location to the large urbanity of Greenville proved to be important for Watson, providing him the opportunity to experience a variety of different types of people, which he used to cultivate his theories on psychology. However, the initial transition would be a struggle for Watson, due to his limited social skills.


Marriage and children

Watson married Mary Ickes, sister of politician
Harold L. Ickes Harold LeClair Ickes ( ; March 15, 1874 – February 3, 1952) was an American administrator, politician and lawyer. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for nearly 13 years from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold th ...
, while he was in graduate school. They had two children, also named John and Mary Ickes Watson, the latter of whom attempted suicide later in life.Smirle, Corinne. 2013.
Profile of Rosalie Rayner
." ''
Psychology's Feminist Voices Psychology's Feminist Voices (PFV) is an online, multimedia digital archive containing the stories of women of psychology's past and contemporary feminist psychologists who have shaped and continue to transform the discipline of psychology. It ho ...
'', edited by A. Rutherford. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
Young Mary and her husband, Paul Hartley, had a daughter,
Mariette Hartley Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is possibly best known for her roles in film as Elsa Knudsen in Sam Peckinpah's '' Ride the High Country'' (1962), Susan Clabon in Alfred Hitchcock's '' M ...
, an actor who suffered from psychological issues that she attributed to her being raised according to her grandfather's theories. Watson's wife later sought divorce due to his ongoing affair with a student,
Rosalie Rayner Rosalie Alberta Rayner (September 25, 1898 – June 18, 1935) was an undergraduate psychology student, then research assistant (and later wife) of Johns Hopkins University psychology professor John B. Watson, with whom she carried out the study ...
(1898–1935). In searching Rayner's bedroom, Mary discovered love letters from Watson. The affair became front-page news in Baltimore. The publicity resulted in
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
asking Watson to resign his faculty position in October 1920.''The Washington Times''. January 2, 1921. In 1921, following the finalization of the divorce, Watson and Rayner married in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, parenting two sons, William Rayner Watson (1921) and James Broadus Watson (1924), who were raised with the behaviorist principles that John espoused throughout his career. The couple remained together until Rayner's death at age 36 in 1935. Like their half-sister, both sons later attempted suicide, with William killing himself in 1954.


Later life and death

Watson burned his letters and personal papers, thus depriving historians of a resource for understanding the early history of behaviorism and of Watson himself.Burnham, John C. 1994. "John B. Watson: Interviewee, Professional Figure, Symbol." ''Modern Perspectives on John B. Watson and Classical Behaviorism.''
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.
Historian John Burnham interviewed Watson late in life, presenting him as a man of strong opinions and some bitterness towards his detractors. In 1957, shortly before his death, Watson received a Gold Medal from the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
for his contributions to psychology.Hergenhahn, B. R. (1992). ''An Introduction to the History of Psychology''. California:
Wadsworth Publishing Company Cengage Group is an American educational content, technology, and services company for higher education, K–12, professional, and library markets. It operates in more than 20 countries around the world.(June 27, 2014Global Publishing Leaders 20 ...
.
Watson lived on his farm until his death in 1958 at age 80. He was buried at Willowbrook Cemetery, Westport,
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
.


Education

Despite his poor academic performance and having been arrested twice during high school—first for fighting, then for discharging firearms within city limits—Watson was able to use his mother's connections to gain admission to Greenville's
Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...
at the age of 16. There, he would complete a few psychology courses, though never excelling. He would also consider himself to be a poor student, holding a few jobs on campus to pay for his college expenses. Others thought him as quiet, lazy, and insubordinate, and, as such, he continued to see himself as "unsocial," making few friends. Nevertheless, being a precocious student, Watson would leave Furman with a master's degree at the age of 21. After graduating, Watson spent a year at Batesburg Institute, the name he gave to a one-room school in Greenville, at which he was principal, janitor, and handyman. Watson entered the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
after petitioning the
University President A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth na ...
. The successful petition would be central to his ascent into the psychology world, as his college experience introduced him to professors and colleagues who would be integral to his success in developing psychology into a credible field of study. Watson began studying philosophy under
John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...
on the recommendation of Furman professor, Gordon Moore. The combined influence of Dewey,
James Rowland Angell James Rowland Angell (; May 8, 1869 – March 4, 1949) was an American psychologist and educator who served as the 16th President of Yale University between 1921 and 1937. His father, James Burrill Angell (1829–1916), was president of the Uni ...
, Henry Herbert Donaldson, and
Jacques Loeb Jacques Loeb (; ; April 7, 1859 – February 11, 1924) was a German-born American physiologist and biologist. Biography Jacques Loeb, born Itzak, firstborn son of a Jewish family from the German Eifel region, was educated at the universities of ...
, led Watson to develop a highly descriptive, objective approach to the analysis of behavior, an approach he would later call ''
behaviorism Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
''.Fancher, R. E. (1990). ''Pioneers of Psychology.'' New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Wanting to make psychology more scientifically acceptable, Watson thought of the approach as a declaration of faith, based on the idea that a
methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...
could transform psychology into a
scientific discipline The branches of science, also referred to as sciences, scientific fields or scientific disciplines, are commonly divided into three major groups: * Formal sciences: the study of formal systems, such as those under the branches of logic and mat ...
. Later, Watson became interested in the work of
Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...
(1849–1936), and eventually included a highly simplified version of Pavlov's principles in his popular works.Bolles, R. C. (1993). ''The Story of Psychology: A Thematic History.'' California: Brooks/Cole Publishing.


Dissertation on animal behavior

Watson earned his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1903.John B. Watson
" ''
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''. 2020
998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescentius II (the Younger) and his followers ...
Retrieved May 16, 2020.
In his dissertation, "Animal Education", he described the relationship between brain
myelination Myelination, or myelinogenesis, is the formation and development of myelin sheaths in the nervous system, typically initiated in late prenatal neurodevelopment and continuing throughout postnatal development. The term ''myelinogenesis'' is also ...
and learning ability in rats at different ages. Watson showed that the degree of myelinization was largely related to learning ability. Watson stayed at the University of Chicago for five years doing research on the relationship between sensory input and learning. He discovered that the
kinesthetic Proprioception ( ) is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, a type of sensory receptor, located within muscles, tendons, and joints. Most animals possess multiple subtypes of propri ...
sense controlled the behavior of rats running in mazes. In 1908, Watson was offered and accepted a faculty position at
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
and was immediately promoted to chair of the psychology department.


Behaviorism

In 1913, Watson published the article "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It" (also called "The Behaviorist Manifesto"). In the "Manifesto", Watson outlines the major features of his new philosophy of psychology, ''behaviorism'', with the first paragraph of the article concisely describing Watson's behaviorist position:
Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness. The behaviorist, in his efforts to get a unitary scheme of animal response, recognizes no dividing line between man and brute. The behavior of man, with all of its refinement and complexity, forms only a part of the behaviorist's total scheme of investigation.
In 1913, Watson viewed Pavlov's
conditioned reflex Classical conditioning (also respondent conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food, a puff of air on the eye, a potential rival) is paired with a neutral stimulus (e.g. ...
as primarily a physiological mechanism controlling glandular secretions. He had already rejected Edward L. Thorndike's '
law of effect The law of effect, or Thorndike's law, is a psychology principle advanced by Edward Thorndike in 1898 on the matter of behavioral conditioning (not then formulated as such) which states that "responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particu ...
' (a precursor to
B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1948 until his retirement in ...
's principle of
reinforcement In Behaviorism, behavioral psychology, reinforcement refers to consequences that increase the likelihood of an organism's future behavior, typically in the presence of a particular ''Antecedent (behavioral psychology), antecedent stimulus''. Fo ...
) due to what Watson believed were unnecessary subjective elements. It was not until 1916 that he would recognize the more general significance of Pavlov's formulation, after which Watson would make such the subject of his presidential address to the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
. The article is also notable for its strong defense of the objective scientific status of
applied psychology Applied psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience. Educational and organizational psychology, business management, law, health, pro ...
, which at the time was considered to be much inferior to the established
structuralist Structuralism is an intellectual current and methodological approach, primarily in the social sciences, that interprets elements of human culture by way of their relationship to a broader system. It works to uncover the structural patterns tha ...
experimental psychology Experimental psychology is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...
. With his notion of ''behaviorism'', Watson put the emphasis on external behavior of people and their reactions on given situations, rather than the internal, mental state of those people. In his opinion, the analysis of behaviors and reactions was the only objective method to get insight in the human actions. This outlook—combined with the complementary ideas of
determinism Determinism is the Metaphysics, metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes ov ...
, evolutionary continuism, and
empiricism In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological view which holds that true knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience and empirical evidence. It is one of several competing views within epistemology, along ...
—has contributed to what is sometimes called
Methodological Behaviorism Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individ ...
(not to be confused with the
Radical Behaviorism Radical behaviorism is a "philosophy of the science of behavior" developed by B. F. Skinner. It refers to the philosophy behind behavior analysis, and is to be distinguished from methodological behaviorism—which has an intense emphasis ...
of Skinner). It was this new perspective that Watson claimed would lead psychology into a new era. He claimed that prior to
Wilhelm Wundt Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (; ; 16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physiologist, philosopher, and professor, one of the fathers of modern psychology. Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and biology, was t ...
, there was no psychology, and that after Wundt there was only confusion and anarchy. It was Watson's new behaviorism that would pave the way for further advancements in psychology. Watson's behaviorism rejected the studying of consciousness. He was convinced that it could not be studied, and that past attempts to do so have only been hindering the advancement of psychological theories. He felt that introspection was faulty at best and awarded researchers nothing but more issues. He pushed for psychology to no longer be considered the science of the 'mind'. Instead, he stated that psychology should focus on the 'behavior' of the individual, not their consciousness. Meanwhile, Watson served as the president of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology in 1915.


Language, speech, and memory

Watson argued that mental activity could not be observed. In his book, ''Behaviorism'' (1924), Watson discussed his thoughts on what language really is, which leads to a discussion of what words really are, and finally to an explanation of what memory is.Watson, John B. 1924. ''Behaviorism''. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.Watson, John B. 1958
924 __NOTOC__ Year 924 (Roman numerals, CMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January—March * January 5 – The monastery of San Martín de Albelda is founded in the Kingdom of Navarre in what is now ...
''Behaviorism'' (revised ed.). Chicago:
University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...
. .
They are all manual devices used by humans that result in ''thinking''. By using anecdotes that illustrate the behaviors and activities of mammals, Watson outlined his
behaviorist Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
views on these topics. Watson refers to ''language'' as a "manipulative habit," because when we speak language, the sound originates in our
larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ (anatomy), organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal ...
, which is a body instrument that we manipulate every time we talk in order to hear our "voice."Watson, John B. 2009
924 __NOTOC__ Year 924 (Roman numerals, CMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January—March * January 5 – The monastery of San Martín de Albelda is founded in the Kingdom of Navarre in what is now ...
"Talking and Thinking." Ch. 10, pp. 180–200 in ''Behaviorism''. New Brunswick, NJ:
Transaction Publishers Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey–based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged w ...
.
As we change our throat shape and tongue position, different sounds are made. Watson explains that when a baby first cries, or first says "da" or "ma," that it is learning language. To further his theory, Watson and his wife conducted an experiment in which they conditioned a baby to say "da-da" when he wanted his bottle. Although the baby was conditioned and was a success for a short while, the conditioning was eventually lost. Watson argues, however, that as the child got older, he would imitate Watson as a result of Watson imitating him. By three years old, the child needed no help developing his vocabulary because he was learning from others. Thus, language is imitative. Watson goes on to claim that, "words are but substitutes for objects and situations." In his earlier baby experiment, the baby learned to say "da" when he wanted a bottle, or "mama" when he wanted his mom, or "shoe-da" when he pointed to his father's shoe. Watson then argues that "we watch our chances and build upon these," meaning human babies have to form their language by applying sounds they have already formed. This, Watson says, is why babies point to an object but call it a different word. Lastly, Watson explains how a child learns to read words: a mom points at each word and reads in a patterned manner, and eventually, because the child recognizes the word with the sound, he or she learns to read it back. This, according to Watson, is the start of memory. All of the ideas previously mentioned are what Watson says make up our memory, and that we carry the memory we develop throughout our lives. Watson tells the tale of Mr. Addison Sims and his friend in order to illustrate these ideas. A friend of Mr. Sims' sees Mr. Sims on a street sidewalk and exclaims: "Upon my life! Addison Sims of Seattle! I haven't seen you since the World's Fair in Chicago. Do you remember the gay parties we used to have in the old Windermere Hotel?" Even after all of this, Mr. Sims cannot remember the man's name, although they were old friends who used to encounter many of the same people, places, and experiences together. Watson argued that if the two men were to do some of their old shared activities and go to some of the old same places (the stimuli), then the response (or memory) would occur.


Study of emotions

Watson was interested in the conditioning of emotions. Of course behaviorism putting an emphasis on people's external behaviors, emotions were considered as mere physical responses. Watson thought that, at birth, there are three unlearned emotional reactions:Crain, W. (2010). ''Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications'' (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was a major American publishing#Textbook_publishing, educational publisher. It published print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market. It was an independent company throughout the bulk of the twentieth cen ...
.
* Fear: evoked by only two stimuli that are unconditioned—a sudden noise or the loss of (physical) support. However, because older children are afraid of many things (e.g. different animals, strange people etc.), it must be that such fear-provoking stimuli are learned. Fear can be observed by the following reaction with infants: crying, rapid breathing, eyes closing, or sudden jumping. * Rage: an innate response to the body movement of the child being constrained. If a very young child is held in a way that she cannot move at all, then she will begin to scream and stiffen her body. Later this reaction is applied to different situations, e.g. children get angry when they are forced to take a bath or clean their room. These situations provoke rage because they are associated with
physical restraint Physical restraint refers to means of limiting or obstructing the freedom of a person's or an animal's bodily movement. Basic methods Usually, binding objects such as handcuffs, legcuffs, ropes, chains, straps or straitjackets are u ...
. * Love: an automatic response from infants when tickled, patted, or stroked lightly. The infant responds with smiles, laughs, and other affectionate responses. According to Watson, infants do not love specific people, they are only conditioned to do so. Because the mother's face is progressively associated with the patting and stroking, it becomes the conditioned stimulus eliciting the affection towards her. Affectionate feelings, for people later, generate the same response because they are somehow associated with the mother.


Use of children


"Little Albert" experiment (1920)

One might consider the experiment Watson and his assistant
Rosalie Rayner Rosalie Alberta Rayner (September 25, 1898 – June 18, 1935) was an undergraduate psychology student, then research assistant (and later wife) of Johns Hopkins University psychology professor John B. Watson, with whom she carried out the study ...
carried out in 1920 to be one of the most controversial in psychology. It has become immortalized in introductory psychology textbooks as the
Little Albert experiment The Little Albert experiment was an unethical study that mid-20th century psychologists interpret as evidence of classical conditioning in humans. The study is also claimed to be an example of stimulus generalization although reading the researc ...
. The goal of the experiment was to show how principles of, at the time recently discovered,
classical conditioning Classical conditioning (also respondent conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent Stimulus (physiology), stimulus (e.g. food, a puff of air on the eye, a potential rival) is paired with a n ...
could be applied to condition fear of a white rat into "Little Albert", a 9-month-old boy. Watson and Rayner conditioned "Little Albert" by clanging an iron rod when a white rat was presented. First, they presented to the boy a white rat and observed that he was not afraid of it. Second, they presented him with a white rat and then clanged an iron rod. "Little Albert" responded by crying. This second presentation was repeated several times. Finally, Watson and Rayner presented the white rat by itself and the boy showed fear. Later, in an attempt to see if the fear transferred to other objects, Watson presented Albert with a rabbit, a dog, and a fur coat. He cried at the sight of all of them. This study demonstrated how emotions could become conditioned responses. As the story of "Little Albert" has made the rounds, inaccuracies and inconsistencies have crept in, some of them even due to Watson himself. Analyses of Watson's film footage of Albert suggest that the infant was mentally and developmentally disabled. An ethical problem of this study is that Watson and Rayner did not uncondition "Little Albert". In 2009, Beck and Levinson found records of a child, Douglas Merritte, who seemed to have been Little Albert. They found that he had died from congenital
hydrocephalus Hydrocephalus is a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within the brain, which can cause pressure to increase in the skull. Symptoms may vary according to age. Headaches and double vision are common. Elderly adults with n ...
at the age of 6. Thus, it cannot be concluded to what extent this study had an effect on Little Albert's life. On January 25, 2012, Tom Bartlett of ''
The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...
'' published a report that questions whether John Watson knew of cognitive abnormalities in Little Albert that would greatly skew the results of the experiment. In 2014, however, the journals that initially endorsed Beck and Fridlund's claims about Albert and Watson (the ''
American Psychologist ''American Psychologist'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association. The journal publishes articles of broad interest to psychologists, including empirical reports and scholarly reviews covering science ...
'' and ''
History of Psychology Psychology is defined as "the scientific study of behavior and mental processes". Philosophical interest in the human mind and behavior dates back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Persia, Greece, China, and India. Psychology as a field of ...
'') published articles debunking those claims.


Deconditioning

Because "Little Albert" was taken out of town, Watson did not have the time to decondition the child. This has ethical implications, but Watson did put in place a method for deconditioning fears. He worked with a colleague, Mary Cover Jones, on a set of procedures aimed at eliminating the fears of another little boy, Peter. Peter seemed to fear white rats and rabbits. Watson and Jones put Peter in his highchair and gave him a nice afternoon snack. At the same time a white rabbit in a cage was put in a distance that did not seem to disturb the child. The next day the rabbit was put slightly closer until Peter showed signs of slight disturbance. This treatment was repeated days after days until Peter could serenely eat his snack with the rabbit being right next to him. Peter was even able to play with the rabbit afterwards. This form of behavior modification is a technique today called
systematic desensitization Systematic desensitization, (relaxation training paired with graded exposure therapy), is a behavior therapy developed by the psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe. It is used when a phobia or anxiety disorder is maintained by classical conditioning. It shares ...
.


Limitations of the conditioning paradigm

The conditioning paradigm has certain limitations. Researchers have had a hard time conditioning infants that are just a few months old. This might be because they have not yet developed what Piaget calls "primary circular reactions". Because they cannot coordinate sensory motor actions they cannot learn to make different associations between their motoric behaviors and the environment. Another limitation concerns the kind of conditioned stimuli humans can learn. When researchers attempt to condition children to fear things such as curtains or wooden blocks they have had great difficulty. Humans may be "innately disposed to fear certain stimuli."


''Psychological Care of Infant and Child'' (1928)

The 20th century marked the formation of qualitative distinctions between children and adults. In 1928, Watson wrote the book ''Psychological Care of Infant and Child'' with help from
Rosalie Rayner Rosalie Alberta Rayner (September 25, 1898 – June 18, 1935) was an undergraduate psychology student, then research assistant (and later wife) of Johns Hopkins University psychology professor John B. Watson, with whom she carried out the study ...
, his assistant and wife. In it, Watson explains that
behaviorists Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...
were starting to believe psychological care and analysis were required for infants and children.Watson, John B. 1928. ''Psychological Care of Infant and Child''. New York: W. W. Norton Company. All of Watson's exclamations were due to his belief that children should be treated as a young adult. As such, he warns against the inevitable dangers of a mother providing too much love and affection, because love—along with everything else understood by the behaviorist perspective—Watson argues, is conditioned. He uses invalidism to support his warning, contending that, since society does not overly comfort children as they become young adults in the real world, parents should not set up these unrealistic expectations. Moreover, he disapproves of
thumb sucking Thumb sucking is a behavior found in humans, chimpanzees, captive ring-tailed lemurs, and other primates.Benjamin, Lorna S.: "The Beginning of Thumbsucking." ''Child Development'', Vol. 38, No. 4 (Dec., 1967), pp. 1065–1078. It usually invol ...
,
masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...
,
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
, and encourages parents to be honest with their children about sex. He would reason such views by saying that "all of the weaknesses, reserves, fears, cautions, and inferiorities of our parents are stamped into us with sledge hammer blows," inferring that emotional disabilities were the result of personal treatment, not inheritance. Watson deemed his slogan to be "''not more babies but better brought up babies''," in support of the 'nurture' side of the '
nature vs nurture Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in biology and society about the relative influence on human beings of their genetic inheritance (nature) and the environmental conditions of their development ( nurture). The alliterative expression ...
' debate, claiming that the world would benefit from extinguishing pregnancies for 20 years while enough data was gathered to ensure an efficient
child-rearing Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biological re ...
process. Further emphasizing nurture, Watson argued that nothing is instinctual, but rather everything is built into a child through the interaction with their environment. Parents, therefore, hold complete responsibility as they choose what environment to allow their child to develop in. Though having researched many topics throughout career, child-rearing became Watson's most prized interest. His book would be extremely popular, having sold 100,000 copies after just a few months of release. Many critics were surprised to see even his contemporaries come to accept his views.Hergenhahn, B. R. (2005). ''An Introduction to the History of Psychology''. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning His emphasis on
child development Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. It is—particularly from birth to five years— a foundation ...
started to become a new phenomenon and would influence some of his successors, though the field had already been delved into by psychologists prior to Watson.
G. Stanley Hall Granville Stanley Hall (February 1, 1844 – April 24, 1924) was an American psychologist and educator who earned the first doctorate in psychology awarded in the United States of America at Harvard University in the nineteenth century. His ...
, for instance, became very well known for his 1904 book ''Adolescence''. Hall's beliefs differed from Watson's behaviorism, as the former believed that one's behavior is mostly shaped by heredity and genetically predetermined factors, especially during childhood. His most famous concept, the ''storm and stress theory'', normalized
adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...
' tendency to act out with conflicting mood swings. Although he wrote extensively on child-rearing, including in ''Psychological Care of Infant and Child'', as well as in many popular magazines, Watson later regretted having written in the area altogether, conceding that he "did not know enough" to do a good job.


Criticism

Critics determined that Watson's ideas mainly stemmed from his beliefs. How much Rosalie Rayner agreed with her husband's child-rearing ideas has also been an important question, as she later penned an article entitled "I am a Mother of Behaviorist Sons", in which she wrote about the future of their family. R. Dale Nance (1970) worried that Watson's personal indiscretions and difficult upbringings could have affected his views while writing his book. This would include having been raised on a poor farm in South Carolina and having various family troubles, such as abandonment by his father. Suzanne Houk (2000) shared similar concerns while analyzing Watson's hope for a businesslike and casual relationship between a mother and her child. Houk points out that Watson only shifted his focus to child-rearing when he was fired from
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
due to his affair with Rayner. Laura E. Berk (2008) similarly examines the roots of the beliefs that Watson came to honor, noting the
Little Albert experiment The Little Albert experiment was an unethical study that mid-20th century psychologists interpret as evidence of classical conditioning in humans. The study is also claimed to be an example of stimulus generalization although reading the researc ...
as the inspiration of Watson's emphasis on environmental factors.Berk, Laura E. 2008. ''Infants and Children: Prenatal Through Middle Childhood''. IL:
Pearson Education Pearson Education, known since 2011 as simply Pearson, is the educational publishing and services subsidiary of the international corporation Pearson plc. The subsidiary was formed in 1998, when Pearson plc acquired Simon & Schuster's educatio ...
.
Little Albert did not fear the rat and white rabbit until he was conditioned to do so. From this experiment, Watson concluded that parents can shape a child's behavior and development simply by a scheming control of all stimulus-response associations. Watson's advice to treat children with respect but relative
emotional detachment In psychology, emotional detachment, also known as emotional blunting, is a condition or state in which a person lacks emotional connectivity to others, whether due to an unwanted circumstance or as a positive means to coping, cope with anxiet ...
, has been strongly criticized. J. M. O'Donnell (1985) deems Watson's views as radical calculations. This discontent stems partly from Watsons' description of a 'happy child', whereby a child can only cry when in physical pain, can occupy himself through his problem-solving abilities, and whereby the child strays from asking questions. Other critics were more wary of Watson's new interest and success in child psychology.


"Twelve infants"

Watson has been misquoted in regards to the following passage, which is often presented out of context and with the last sentence omitted, making his position appear more radical than it actually was: In Watson's ''Behaviorism'', the sentence is provided in the context of an extended argument against
eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...
. That Watson did not hold a radical
environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...
position may be seen in his earlier writing in which his "starting point" for a science of behavior was "the observable fact that organisms, man and animal alike, do adjust themselves to their environment by means of hereditary and habit equipments." Nevertheless, Watson recognized the importance of nurture in the
nature versus nurture Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in biology and society about the relative influence on human beings of their genetics, genetic inheritance (nature) and the environmental conditions of their development (nurture). The alliterative ex ...
discussion which was often neglected by his eugenic contemporaries.


Advertising career

Thanks to contacts provided by E. B. Titchener, an academic colleague, Watson subsequently began working late in 1920 for U.S.
advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...
J. Walter Thompson. He learned the advertising business' many facets at ground level, including a stint working as a shoe salesman in an upscale department store. Despite this modest start, in less than two years Watson had risen to a vice-presidency at Thompson. His executive's salary, plus bonuses from various successful ad campaigns, resulted in an income many times higher than his academic salary. Watson headed a number of high-profile advertising campaigns, particularly for Ponds cold cream and other personal-care products. In addition, he is credited with popularizing the "
coffee break A break at work (or work-break) is a period of time during a shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from their job. It is a type of downtime. There are different types of breaks, and depending on the length and the employer's p ...
" during an ad campaign for
Maxwell House Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the Ma ...
coffee. He has been widely but erroneously credited with re-introducing the "testimonial" advertisement after the tool had fallen out of favor (due to its association with ineffective and dangerous
patent medicines A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...
). However, testimonial advertisements had been in use for years before Watson entered advertising. An example of Watson's use of testimonials was with the campaign he developed for Pebeco Toothpaste. The ad featured a seductively dressed woman, and coaxed women to smoke, as long as they used Pebeco toothpaste. The toothpaste was not a means to benefit health or hygiene, but as a way to heighten the sexual attraction of the consumer. Watson stated that he was not making original contributions, but was just doing what was normal practice in advertising. Watson stopped writing for popular audiences in 1936, and retired from advertising at about age 65.


Selected works

*1907. "Kinaesthetic and Organic Sensations: Their Role in the Reactions of the White rat to the Maze." * 1908. "The Behavior of Noddy and Sooty Terns." *1913. "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It." * 1914. ''Behavior: An Introduction to Comparative Psychology''. *1915. "Recent experiments with homing birds." *1920. "Conditioned emotional reactions," with
Rosalie Rayner Rosalie Alberta Rayner (September 25, 1898 – June 18, 1935) was an undergraduate psychology student, then research assistant (and later wife) of Johns Hopkins University psychology professor John B. Watson, with whom she carried out the study ...
. — the Little Albert study. *1921. "Studies in Infant Psychology," with Rosalie Rayner. * 1924. ''Behaviorism''. *1928. ''Psychological Care of Infant and Child''. * 1936. "John Broadus Watson." — autobiography Watson, John B. 1936. "John Broadus Watson utobiography" Pp. 271–81 in ''A History of Psychology in Autobiography'' 3, edited by C. Murchison. Worcester, MA: Clark University Press.


References


Notes


Citations


Further reading

* Buckley, Kerry W. 1989. ''Mechanical Man: John Broadus Watson and the Beginnings of Behaviorism.'' New York: Guilford Press. * Coon, Deborah J. 1994. "'Not a Creature of Reason': The Alleged Impact of Watsonian Behaviorism on Advertising in the 1920s." In ''Modern Perspectives on John B. Watson and Classical Behaviorism'', edited by J. T. Todd & E. K. Morris. Greenwood Press. * Curtis, H. S. 1900
899 __NOTOC__ Year 899 ( DCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Arnulf of Carinthia, the King of East Francia, enlists the support of the Magyars, to raid northern Ita ...
"Automatic Movements of the Larynx." ''
American Journal of Psychology The ''American Journal of Psychology'' is a journal devoted primarily to experimental psychology. It is the first such journal to be published in the English language (though ''Mind'', founded in 1876, published some experimental psychology earl ...
'' 11:237–39. * * Harris, B. 1984. "'Give me a dozen healthy infants...': John B. Watson's popular advice on child rearing, women, and the family." Pp. 126–54 in ''In the Shadow of the Past: Psychology Portrays the Sexes'', edited by M. Lewin. New York: Columbia University Press. * Mills, John A. 1998. ''Control: A History of Behavioral Psychology''. New York: New York University Press. * * Todd, James T. 1994. "What Psychology Has to Say About John B. Watson: Classical Behaviorism in Psychology Textbooks, 1920-1989." In ''Modern Perspectives on John B. Watson and Classical Behaviorism'', edited by J. T. Todd & E. K. Morris. Greenwood Press. * * Todd, James T., and Edward K. Morris. 1994. ''Modern Perspectives on John B. Watson and Classical Behaviorism.'' New York: Greenwood Press. *Wyczoikowska, A. 1913. "Theoretical and experimental studies in the mechanism of speech." ''
Psychological Review ''Psychological Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers psychological theory. It was established by James Mark Baldwin (Princeton University) and James McKeen Cattell (Columbia University) in 1894 as a publication vehic ...
'' 20:448–58.


External links

* *
John B. Watson. His Life in Words and Pictures
– Furman University Psychology Department

– A biographical sketch of Watson's life and work on the website of Johns Hopkins University, where he worked from 1908 to 1920.

Robert H. Wozniak, Bryn Mawr College

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John B. 1878 births 1958 deaths 20th-century American psychologists American atheists Behaviourist psychologists American developmental psychologists Furman University alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty People from Greenville, South Carolina People from Travelers Rest, South Carolina Presidents of the American Psychological Association University of Chicago alumni