Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet reflects on an experiment designed to induce fear in a toddler.
The Essay · BBC Radio 3
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (open.live.bbc.co.uk) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Fear is one of the six basic universal emotions (the others are anger, disgust, happiness, sadness and surprise) and like all human emotions not easy to understand. Fear can be played upon, enjoyed, conquered. It is an obstacle to progress ("the only thing to fear is fear itself") and, as we stand at the kerb, it saves our lives every day. This series of The Essay brings you five essays on different aspects of fear.
Tonight writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet uncovers the tragic history of The Little Albert Experiment, conducted by John B Watson, a 1920s psychologist who conditioned a toddler to recoil from a white rat and, eventually, any white fluffy object.
Producer Laura Thomas.