ABSTRACT
PROGRESS in the investigation and treatment of behaviour disorders in adults has not been accompanied by a similar rate of advance in child psychology. With the exception of the problems of enuresis and to a lesser extent, phobias, there has been little systematic research conducted in this field by learning theorists. On purely historical grounds, this uneven development is a little surprising. The first experimental demonstration of the genesis of neurotic behaviour in a human being was carried out by Watson (1920) on a young boy, Albert. Watson produced a phobia in Albert by presenting a disturbing loud noise when a white rat was brought into the boy's presence. After a few repetitions of this association, Albert developed a phobia for small white furry objects (see page 81 above). In addition to Watson's classical demonstration, the first attempt at treatment based on learning principles was also carried out on a child. In 1924, Mary Cover Jones used deconditioning methods to eliminate a rabbit phobia in a three-year-old boy, Peter. The techniques she employed were a precursor of some of the new methods used by contemporary behaviour therapy. In particular, Wolpe's (1958) systematic desensitization method has an affinity to Jones' early study. The next significant advance in the application of learning theory to children's disorders was Mowrer and Mowrer's (1938) work on the conditioning treatment of enuresis. This disorder has continued to receive the attention of behaviour therapists but in general, the progress made in the treatment of adults since 1948 has not been reflected in child psychology and psychiatry.
