Behaviouist Approach - Classic Research: Watson And Rayner (1920) Flashcards
what are the 3 assumptions
- Humans are born like a blank slate
- Behaviour learned through conditioning
- Humans and animals learn in similar ways
what is a phobia
- overwhelming and debilitating fear of objects, animals, etc
- more pronounced then fears
- develop when people have an unrealistic sense of danger about a situation/object
why were babies good test subjects
- babies: show 3 basic emotions = fear, rage, love. They also have basic behaviour
- adults: too complex
what was the aim of their experiment, who were they
- Watson and Rayner (1920)
- see if they could use classical conditioning to condition a healthy baby boy to fear a neutral stimulus (white rat) by manipulating his environment
what were the 4 key questions they wanted to answer
- can a fear of previously neutral stimulus be conditioned by presenting it simultaneously with an established negative stimulus
- could the conditioned response be transferred to other animals and objects
- does this conditioned response change over time
- if, after a reasonable period, the emotional responses haven’t died out, how might they be removed
who was the participant
- a baby called Albert B
why was Albert B a good participant
- no preconditioned phobias because he’s so young
- he had a stable mental and physical state –> rules out other reasons he might cry
- won’t cause mental harm in future
- his mum was a nurse, easy to volunteer
what type of experiment was this
- it wasn’t an experiment
- it was a CONTROLLED OBSERVATION
-because–> no manipulation of an IV or DV
-because–> took place in a controlled environment
what was the environment like
- well-lit dark room
- baby on a mattress placed on a table
were these observations recorded?
yes - using a motion picture camera
using the formula for classical conditioning, illustrate how Watson used classical conditioning to induce fear of a white rat in little Albert
loud noise (UCS) –> fear (UCR)
white rat (NS) –> no response
loud noise (UCS) + white rat (NS) –> fear (UCR)
white rat (CS) –> fear (CR)
what were all the important steps in the experiment
- emotional tests
- session 1: establishing a conditioned emotional response
- session 2: Testing the conditioned emotional response
- session 3: generalisation
- session 4: changing the environment
- session 5: the effect if time
—in between steps—> given building blocks to play with
what was the procedure in the emotional tests
- confronted with certain objects (e.g. dog, fire, newspapers etc) then observe his response
- then, test him with a loud sound (striking metal with hammer above his head, whilst another observer tries to get his attention), then observe his response
what was the findings from the emotional tests
Albert showed no fear to any stimuli aside from the bar being hit with a hammer
what was the procedure in session 1
- when albert was 11 months and 3 days old
- sees white rate and reaches for it = bar was struck above his head
what was the findings from session 1
- when bar struck = fell forward and buried his head (but no crying)
- on 2nd time = whimpered a little and fell forward
what was the procedure in session 2
- returns for testing 1 week later
- shown rat, observe his response (will he act on previous experience?)
- after this: show rat 5x to the ‘joint stimulation’ i.e. add loud noises to rat
what was the findings from session 2
- albert is initially a little fearful
- after 5 pairings = he showed increased fear
- but had no caution to blocks –> scared of rat, but not blocks
what was the procedure in session 3
- returns 5 days later
- has he learned the link?
- shown things like rat (rabbit, dog, seal fur coat, Watson’s hair), observe his reaction
what was the findings in session 3
- shows fear to these other objects
- but not to wooden blocks or assistants hair (who didn’t have white hair like Watson)
what was the procedure in session 4
- 5 days later
- refreshen his emotional response using some ‘joint stimulation’
- taken to a new environment as well (better lighting)
what was the findings from session 4
- less extreme responses initially, but get stronger after ‘freshening up’
- still happily plays with blocks
what was the procedure in session 5
- at 12 months and 21 days old
- show him only Santa clause mask, fur coats, rat. then observe reaction
what was the findings from session 5
- reaction to furry objects weren’t as strong
- but Albert still avoided them and cried
in between each of the stimuli what was albert given and why
- given building blocks to play with
1. see if he could discriminate between furry objects and building blocks –> shows fear is exclusive to furry objects
2. reset his behaviour
what were the 3 conclusions that can be made from this controlled observation
- greater the sound (more intense UCS) = the less association needs to be made
- Albert didn’t only develop a phobia of rats, but also other stimuli
- weak-willed people will develop phobias in this way
what are the strengths and weaknesses of Watson and Rayner’s methodology and procedures
- High levels of control (done in lab) = strength
- Study was filmed = strength
- Baseline testing = strength
- control condition = strength
- only 1 participant = weakness
- setting wasn’t natural = weakness
why was high levels of control a strength
- done in a lab
- they chose the environment (dark room) = control over situational variables and other extraneous variables
why was the study being filmed a strength
- findings can be confirmed by others
why was baseline testing a strength
- baseline condition was the emotional testing stage
- helps establish pre-manipulation behaviour
- and show that he’s not just a fearful child
why was the control condition a strength
- control condition = playing with blocks between conditioning
- proves fear is exclusively to furry objects
why is only having one participant a weakness
- due to dismissal from the University, they couldn’t continue with more participants
- without more than 1 we can’t have comparisons
- therefore: can’t REALLY know if observed responses are unique to this individual or not
why is the setting not being natural a weakness
- done in lab
- Albert’s behaviour might’ve been unnatural behaviour –caused by–> the unfamiliar place, causing his caution
what are the 3 alternative explanations for Albert’s behaviour
- The two-process theory
- biological preparedness
- The Freudian position
explain the alternative explanation for albert’s behaviour: The two-process theory
- operant conditioning can’t explain how they persist
-after time without being exposed to rat + noise = CR lessened
O.H. Mowrer (1947) explains why it doesn’t disappear: 2 stages
stage1 - classical conditioning: how they pick up phobias
stage2 - operant conditioning: how they’re maintained
–> once fear is leant, we avoid the situations, producing fears
–> the avoidance of the phobic stimulus reduces fear, thus reinforces avoiding it
–> this is negative reinforcement
–> therefore because no anxiety is felt = positive reinforcement
–> reinforcement maintains the avoidance response
explain the alternative explanation for Albert’s behaviour: Biological preparedness
- by Martin Seligman (1970)
- argues animals (including humans) are genetically programmed to rapidly learn an association between certain stimuli and fear
- these stimuli are called Ancient fears
–> things dangerous in our evolutionary past (snakes, heights, strangers, rats)
–> therefore we’re adaptive to rapidly learn to avoid stimuli
explain the alternative explanation for Albert’s behaviour: Psychodynamic
- using 1920 Freudian explanations
- albert sucks thumb when scared = form of sexual stimulation
- Watson + Rayner said it wasn’t sexual stimulation, but instead a way that albert could cope with fear
–> they think that Albert will seek help in 20s from Freudian therapist for a phobia of furry objects. This stems from when when albert played with his mum’s pubic hair = scolded
–> the scolding = albert push unpleasant memory into unconscious mind, where it will continue to exert an effect = phobia of furry objects - therefore the fear was conditioned by the experience with the mother, and not the observation
How did Watson try to justify the use of unethical methods on Albert, + weakness to this
- Albert could’ve been conditioned and most likely would’ve been conditioned later in life
-weakness–> he wouldn’t have been conditioned to the same intensity and frequency that it was in the controlled observation
How did Watson try to justify the lasting effects on Albert
- they always planned to recondition him
- unfortunately he was pulled out of experiment by his mum, so they never got the chance to recondition him
what might the crying from the thumb being removed be mistaken for
- the fear of rat could be confused with: distress from not being able to suck thumb and comfort himself
- this affects validity
- thumb = extraneous variable
what positives comes from this experiment
we get aversion therapy
name 4 social benefits form the experiment
- use it in classroom environment to help kids learn better
- use it in laws, condition society to behave
- use it in health care, people aren’t scared of waiting rooms
- use it in parenting, so kids behave
what are the 3 ethical and social implications of Watson and Rayner’s study
- CREATING FEAR: they were aware of the fear they caused him. Can’t be ethically sound if child experience distress greater than they would day to day
–> ‘such attachments would arise anyway’ – its normal - MORE PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM: in order to observe full effects of fearful stimuli, they removed his thumb (removing comfort) = makes sure he’s really scared
- LASTING EFFECTS: they intended to recondition him, but his mum removed him too soon from experiment. therefore it will persist in the home environment.
–> researchers should’ve anticipated this in the beginning and procedures should’ve been put in place
–> mother should’ve been properly informed so she could give proper consent, ensuring the conditioning could’ve taken place
when writing an essay what would you talk about in a paragraph about: ethics
- thumb sucking
- the loud noise being bad ethically due to its consistency and intensity + causing harm intentionally
when writing an essay what would you talk about in a paragraph about: Social implications
- important in education
- negative implications for society
when writing an essay what would you talk about in a paragraph about: methodology
- took place in a lab
- representativeness of albert
when writing an essay what would you talk about in a paragraph about: procedure
- building blocks
- procedures that SHOULD’VE been in place, so his mum doesn’t take him out too early
explain the important implications in the field of education
- conditioning can be used to positively shape young people’s behaviour = maximise learning + results
- McAllister et al (1969): found that use of ‘teacher praise/disapproval’ = decrease in incidence of ‘inappropriate talking’
- therefore conditioning can maximise educational achievements + teach children right skills that ensures a generation of children will be prepared for the workplace
explain the negative implications for society
- conditioning in education = negative effects
- Lepper et al (1973): supports the argument that the notion of rewards/punishments is harmful to a child’s internal motivation to learn
- therefore it has a risk of creating generations with no intrinsic motivation, reliant on rewards in order to complete tasks
-society requires individuals who are self-motivated
