Behaviourist Approach- Classic Research

Question 1

Watson and Rayner- Methodology

Answer 1

Participant- There was only one participant in this study, Little Albert, 9 months old.
Test- Whether human emotions can be acquired through classical conditioning- teaching a phobia. A controlled observation.
Not a case study, only focused on Albert’s response. Not an experiment only one condition.

Question 2

Procedure and Findings

Answer 2

Emotional tests:
P- Tested with various stimuli to gauge his emotional reactions.
F- Showed no fear except for when the bar was hit

Session 1: Establishing a conditioned emotional response
P- Emotional responses tested again. When reaching for rat, the bar was struck
F- Albert cried each time

Session 2: Testing the conditioned emotional response
P- A week later his reaction with the rat was tested
F- Rat + Noise- 5 times- showed fear- No noise + rat= scared

Session 3: Generalisation
P- Five days later, Albert was brought into the lab, presented with a range of fluffy white objects.
F- Showed a great deal of fear of the rabbit, dog, fur coat, cotton wool, Watson’s hair, Santa mask with a beard. No fear of blocks, room, or Watson’s research assistant’s hair.

Session 4: Changing the environment
P- Five days later, Albert again tested with the rat. His fear response was ‘freshened up’ to strengthen the emotional response. Tested in a lecture theatre.
F- Fear of rat was not as strong. Response was stronger after it had been ‘freshened up’. Lecture theatre- fear but not as strong.

Session 5- The effect of time
P- A month later Albert was brought back to the lab to have his emotions reactions tested.
F- Albert still showed a fear response although it was not as severe.

Question 3

Overall Findings

Answer 3

Incidental observations

Albert often sucked his thumb for comfort. Fear response disappeared when he did so.

Question 4

Conclusions

Answer 4

• Fear responses can be learned, or taught to, any individual, and that most people developed phobias in this way.
• A conditioned response can generalise to other similar stimuli and generalisation can persist easily.
• Only weak-willed people will develop phobias in the same way Albert did.
• Responses would ‘persist indefinitely’ unless behaviourist techniques were used to get rid of it.
• SD, re-conditioning or replacing fear with another emotional response would get rid of the phobia response.

Question 5

Evaluation

Answer 5

How do phobias act in real life compared to how Watson suggest?
If phobias were learnt from a negative experience with a particular stimulus, then this study suggests that an absence of further negative experience would lead to the phobia eventually leaving. However, in real life this does not happen. Phobias persist for many years, even without any further negative experiences.

DiNardo 1988, Some people have traumatic experiences but are not scared of things.