Classic Study Little Albert Flashcards
What was the aim? LITTLE ALBERT
To see whether an emotional response to a neutral stimulus could be classically conditioned in humans
How old was little Albert when he was first chosen?
9 months
What was he assessed for before the study? LITTLE ALBERT
His emotional stability
What was his reaction when little Albert was shown a white rat first time?
He reached out for it showing no fear
What was struck behind him as little Albert went to touch the rat?
A steel bar
When was the procedure repeated? LITTLE ALBERT
A week after his first encounter
What was little Albert also presented with and why?
Building bricks and a range of furry stimuli to test for stimulus generalisation
Finish the sentence
When Albert was 12 months old he was
Tested again to see if he had retained his conditioned responses to the rat and other stimuli
What was a result? LITTLE ALBERT
The pairing of the rat and the loud noise created an association resulting in the rat being a conditioned stimulus and the fear being a conditioned response
What was concluded? LITTLE ALBERT
It is possible to create a conditioned emotional response in humans after only a few pairings of the stimuli
High reliability? LITTLE ALBERT
Took great care to identify control variables- IV was clear and operationalised and only one variable was manipulated at a a time
Lacks ecological validity? LITTLE ALBERT
Artificial setting- may have increased Alberta fear levels
