What are the major ethical issues in this study? The Little Albert experiment was carried out by John B Watson (Watson and Rayner, 1920). The study provided evidence of classical conditioning in humans. Similar to Ivan Pavlov’s experiments with his dogs (salivating at the sound of a bell), Watson was trying to form a certain reaction in response to a certain stimulus in a human baby. Watson observed that a baby’s fearful reaction to loud noises was an innate, automatic response. When they hear a loud noise, little children always display behavioural signs of fear

(tears, and so on). So he set out to form a fearful reaction to a neutral stimulus, furry objects, using the classic Pavlovian techniques.