In modern psychological practice it is necessary to follow some ethical concerns and guidelines to ensure safe experiment conditions from which to ensure the protection of participants; mental and physical damage/ramifications. The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research outlines guidelines on ethical conduct for those who conduct psychological practice, some of the main guidelines or “values” that must be followed are merit, integrity, justice, beneficence and respect. John B. Watson's famous human conditioning and behavioral experiment, "Little Albert", has raised many ethical concerns and controversies over the years being considered completely unethical by today's standards. Albert's Little Experiment is a great example of an essay whose purpose is to point out how unethical some experiments actually are. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay John B. Watson conducted the Little Albert experiment in 1920 with the goal of studying behaviorism in a nine-month-old baby known by the pseudonym “little Albert.” Watson studied human conditioning using an experimental design method. The experiment was aimed at creating a fear response using conditioning methods, as Watson wanted to investigate the roots of human phobias. During the process of the experiment Watson and his associates presented Little Albert with various stimuli as independent variables, including animals such as a mouse, a rabbit, a monkey and a dog and even non-inanimate objects such as cotton wool and burning newspapers. Albert showed no fear when shown most of these stimuli, rather curiosity, but when presented again, Watson would make a sudden loud sound that would startle the child. This action was repeated several times and when he was presented with these stimuli again, Albert automatically showed fear, crying and moving away. Watson's tests had successfully demonstrated that fear could be a conditioned response in humans. Today, Watson's experiment would be considered completely unethical according to the guidelines mentioned in the National Statement of Ethical Conduct. The most concerning violation would be for the experiment to expose Albert to psychological harm, since the purpose of the experiment was to induce a fear reaction. Although there was consent from Albert's mother, he was only 9 months old at the time and was unable to understand or be informed of any psychological harm that might occur or understand the results and conclusion of the experiment. Another problem that occurred due to the age of the participants was that Albert was unable to withdraw from the experiment as he was too young to communicate verbally with the experimenter. Of course when he wanted to “get out” of the experiment he would start crying but since the purpose of the experiment was to create a fear response his distress was ignored and the experiment would resume. The overall effect of the experiment on Albert was the long-term fear that was induced in him, although Watson could have attempted to "cure" the phobias that were created due to the experiment using a method called systematic desensitization, without any support. was offered after the experiment and Albert was left with phobias that had been conditioned without his knowledge, understanding or consent. The study used an experimental procedure to further explain the cause of phobias and human conditioning. Since the experiment is.