4.3 studies (learning) Flashcards
what’s the aim of watson and rayners study?
to investigate if emotional responses such as fear can be learned by classical conditioning
what was the procedure of watson and rayner’s study?
- got a 9 month old boy - albert
- presented with a white rat which was a neutral stimulus (NS)
- no fear was shown
- then exposed to a loud noise by a steel bar (UCS) and cried (UCR)
- 5 sessions took place after two months and loud noise was repeatedly paired with the rat
- his responses towards rats and other objects were also measured
what were the results of watson and rayner’s study?
- after 7 tries of linking loud noise to him reaching out to the rat, he cried
- he was tested again 5 weeks later with wooden blocks and the rat, he showed no response to wooden blocks meaning he wasn’t getting more scared generally
- moved to different room and he was still scared of the rat in all environments
- tested with a rabbit, dog and santa mask associated with rat
- tested a month later and was still scared of rat, santa mask and fur coat
what was the conclusion of watson and rayner’s study?
it is easy to condition an emotional response to a NS, as in the study just two sessions of pairing a UCS and a NS was enough to produce CR against a rat
what’s a strength of watson and rayner’s study?
- high levels of internal validity
- albert’s response to wooden blocks were a good way to measure his responses were only to furry objects, not just a general increase of anxiety
- tests were conducted in two different control environments, ensuring albert’s responses were not to a single context
- therefore, likely albert’s behaviour was due to conditioning and not extraneous variables
what’s a weakness of watson and rayner’s study?
- not representative of true origin of phobias
- conditioned albert to have a fear of white rats but irl children would fears more naturally
- therefore, their findings may not be representative of real life learning and development of phobias
what was the aim of becker’s study?
to investigate eating behaviours and attitudes following prolonged exposure to television among Fijian adolescent girls
what was the procedure of becker’s study?
- independent groups design
- compare questionnaire and interview data between two groups
- one groups data collected before western tv and one afterwards
- both groups did EAT-26 questionnaire
- participants weight and height measured
- girls over the threshold in questionnaire given more questions
- e.g do u think u should eat less?
what were the findings of Becker?
- differences in BMI from before tv and after stayed the same
- TV ownership increased
- vomiting behaviour increased
- EAT-26 score increased
what’s a quote from the qualitative findings of Becker?
“when they see some of the characters are very fit in their body, they try to be like that character”
what’s the conclusion of becker’s study?
In Fiji, TV had influenced changes in eating attitudes in women which contradicts the traditional attitudes towards eating and body image
what’s a strength of becker’s study?
- has both qualitative and quantitate data both confirms effects of TV
- quantitative data shows a significant change in eating behaviours using the EAT-26
- qualitative data shows girls’ desire to be thinner to be like models on TV
- therefore, this usage identifies TV as the source of change in eating attitudes, cause-effect relationship
what’s a weakness of becker’s study?
- use of a self report data and use of EAT-26
- participants may lie on the EAT-26 to appear more desirable wanting to appear thin
- girls may not be truthful in interviews
- therefore, the findings of impact of TV and change in body image may not be valid
