<P> According to some textbooks, Albert's mother worked in the same building as Watson and didn't know the tests were being conducted . When she found out, she took Albert and moved away, letting no one know where they were going . A 2009 report, however, disputes that . The original report had stated that the baby's mother was a wet nurse at the hospital, who may have felt coerced and unable to turn down a request for her baby to be used in Watson's experiment . </P> <P> In 2009, psychologists Hall P. Beck and Sharman Levinson published an article in which they claimed to have discovered the true identity of "Albert B ." After reviewing Watson's correspondence and publications, as well as research in public documents (such as the 1920 United States Census and state birth and death records), Beck argued that "Albert B ." was a pseudonym for Douglas Merritte, the son of Arvilla Merritte, then a woman who appears to have been a wet nurse at the Harriet Lane Home . Recent research has shown, however, that Douglas Merritte may not have been "Little Albert", who may in fact have been young William Barger . </P> <P> The identity claimed by Beck, Levinson, and Irons has been contested by psychology researchers, Russ Powell and Nancy Digdon, as well as Watson scholar, Ben Harris, who offer an alternative identity based on available data . William Barger had been born within a day of Merritte, was known by friends and family as "Albert" (even though his given name was William), and his mother had also worked at the hospital where the experiment was conducted . In addition, his size and developmental condition much more closely matched the experiment's documentation of the subject baby's condition . Through the use of a professional genealogist, the researchers learned Barger had died in 2007 at age 87 and identified one close living relative, a niece . In an interview, Barger's niece stated that she and her uncle had been quite close throughout his life, acknowledged Barger's antipathy toward dogs as a well - known fact that family members would tease him about (the researchers noted there was no way to determine whether or not this behavior was linked to Watson's experiment), and stated that she did not recall any other phobias . The researchers concluded that Barger would have been unaware of his role as an infant test subject . </P> <P> Although he probably continued to fear various furry objects for a time, he would likely have been desensitized by his natural environments later in life . Nonetheless, the experiment today would be considered unethical according to the American Psychological Association's ethic code, and legislation has been passed to prevent such potentially harmful experiments . In the early 1970s, following widely publicized cases of research abuse, The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (NCPHS) was created to study issues surrounding the protection of humans in research . In 1979, the Commission issued a report entitled Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research (commonly called the Belmont Report), which provided the ethical framework on which current federal regulations for the protection of human participants in research are based . Under the NCPHS standards set in the late 1970s, an experiment such as Watson's would not have been allowed . There are also regulations now put in place by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Public Health Service Act, as well as required education since 2000 in the use of human research participants required by the National Institutes of Health . </P>

The case of little albert represents which historical perspective of psychology