<P> The Little Albert experiment was a controlled experiment showing empirical evidence of classical conditioning in humans . The study also provides an example of stimulus generalization . It was carried out by John B. Watson and his graduate student, Rosalie Rayner, at Johns Hopkins University . The results were first published in the February 1920 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology . </P> <P> After observing children in the field, Watson hypothesized that the fearful response of children to loud noises is an innate unconditioned response . He wanted to test the notion that by following the principles of the procedure now known as "classical conditioning", he could use this unconditioned response to condition a child to fear a distinctive stimulus that normally would not be feared by a child (in this case, furry objects). </P> <P> The aim of Watson and Rayner was to condition a phobia in an emotionally stable child . For this study they chose a nine - month old infant from a hospital referred to as "Albert" for the experiment . Watson followed the procedures which Pavlov had used in his experiments with dogs . </P>

In the little albert study what was the unconditioned stimulus