In 1920, psychologist John B. Watson conducted a controversial experiment on a 9-month-old infant nicknamed “Little Albert” to test if fear could be conditioned. Initially, Albert showed no fear of a white rat. But after Watson paired the rat with a loud, frightening noise, Albert developed “a deep fear of furry objects.”

The study, based on Pavlov’s conditioning theory, became a key example in behaviorism. However, serious ethical concerns soon emerged.

Albert’s mother was misled, and researchers made “no effort to reverse the trauma.” Decades later, Little Albert was identified as Douglas Merritte, a child with neurological issues who died at age six from hydrocephalus.

Experts now believe Douglas’s health problems were overlooked, and his distress was used for science. The experiment, once praised, is now condemned for its “lack of consent” and “disregard for well-being.”

Douglas’s story remains a powerful reminder: “ethics and compassion must always come before scientific ambition.”