1. Appalachian State University
Finding Little Albert: Adventures In The Search For Psychology’s Lost Boy
Hall P. Beck, PhD
Appalachian State University

2. Simple In Concept But Complex In Execution
Learn as much as possible about Albert.
Find an individual matching these attributes.

3. What We Learned: Watson’s Writings
1. Albert’s mother worked in the Harriet Lane Home.
2. She was a wet nurse.
3. The study was conducted in the winter of
4. Albert was first tested at 8 months 26 days of age.
5. He was lasted tested at 12 months 21 days of age.
6. Albert was born in the maternity ward at Johns Hopkins.
7. He lived almost his entire first year at Harriet Lane.

4. What We Learned: Additional Discoveries
1. No more than 4 wet nurses concurrently resided at the Harriet Lane Home.
2. Albert appears to be Caucasian.
3. The baseline was filmed (8 months, 26 days of age).
4. Watson’s correspondence indicates that baseline was filmed between November 28 and December 12, 1919.

5. What We Learned: Additional Discoveries
1. No more than 4 wet nurses resided at Harriet Lane.
2. Albert appears to be Caucasian.
3. The baseline was filmed (8 months, 26 days of age).
4. Watson’s correspondence indicates baseline filmed between November 28 and December 12, 1919.
5. Albert was born between March 2 and March 16, 1919.

6. The Hard Part: Finding An Individual Who Matched These Attributes
No employee records
No patient records.
Watson burned his papers shortly before his death.

7. The Hard Part: Finding An Individual Who Matched These Attributes
No employee records
No patient records.
Watson burned his papers shortly before his death.
Census

8. To Find Albert You Must Go To Granada
Granada Sharman

9. Johns Hopkins Hospital: 1920 Census

10. Three Foster Mothers, A Sleuth And A Grandson
Pearl Barger
Ethel Carter
Arvilla Merritte
Kristen Gary

11. Landmarks in Arvilla Irons Merritte’s Life
1898: Born in New Jersey. Moved to Virginia early 20th century.
1915: Maurice Irons born.
1919: Douglas Merritte born. Arvilla works at the Harriet Lane.
Early 1920s: Arvilla and Douglas move in with Brashears.
1926: Arvilla marries Wilbur Hood.
1939: Gwendolyn born.
1988: Arvilla dies at 89 years of age.

12. Albert
Figure 1. Albert at 8 months and 26 days of age. Possibilities of a confirmatory and disconfirmatory analyses.

13. Douglas-Albert
Figure 2. Close-up of Douglas on the left, his age is unknown. Close-up of Albert on the right, he is 8 months and 26 days of age.

14. Comparisons of Albert’s And Douglas’s Mothers
1. Albert’s mother and Arvilla worked at Harriet Lane Home in the winter of
2. Albert’s mother and Arvilla lived on the Hopkins campus.
3. Albert’s mother and Arvilla were wet nurses.
4. There were probably no more than four wet nurses concurrently residing at Harriet Lane.

15. Comparisons of Albert And Douglas
1. Albert and Douglas were born in the maternity ward at Johns Hopkins.
2. Like Albert, Douglas spent almost his entire first year at the Harriet Lane Home.
3. Like Albert, Douglas left Hopkins during the early 1920s

16. Comparisons of Albert And Douglas
4. Albert and Douglas were Caucasian males.
5. Albert was born between March 2 and March 16, Douglas was born on March 9, 1919.
6. Visual inspection and biometric analyses of Douglas’ portrait and the Little Albert film reveal “facial similarities” and that they “could be the same individual.”

17. Epilogue To A Quest

18. New Discoveries And Two New Colleagues
Alan Bill Gary

19. For Additional Information About Albert-Douglas
Beck, H. P., Levinson, S. & Irons, G. (2009). Finding Little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson’s infant laboratory, American Psychologist, 64,
Fridlund, A. J., Beck, H. P., Goldie, W. D., & Irons, G. (2012, January 23). Little Albert: A Neurologically Impaired Child. History of Psychology. Advance online publication.