Classic Study: Watson and Rayner (1920) Flashcards
Aim
To see if simple emotional responses could be acquired through classical conditioning
Procedure:
How old was little albert
9 months at the start of the experiment
Procedure:
What were the 2 IV’s
- presence/absence of loud noise
- sight of the rat
Procedure:
What was the DV
Albert’s response
Procedure:
What were some of the object Albert was presented to one at a time with to test his initial baseline emotional response.
And what was his response to these objects
a white rat, a rabbit, a dog, a monkey, masks, cotton wool
- showed no fear response
Procedure:
How many sessions happened
5 in total
Procedure:
What happened in session 1
Conditioning began, White rat presented to him, when he reached out for it a metal bar was hit with a hammer behind his head producing loud noise
Procedure:
What happened in session 2
A week later Albert reintroduced to white rat, rat was paired with the loud noise 5 times.
- Blocks was also given to him to test to see if he was just getting scared more easily (showed no fear)
Procedure:
What happened in session 3
5 days later Albert’s responses to the rat and other objects were assessed.
Procedure:
Session 3, what were some of the objects included in the retest?
Dog, John Watsons hair, fur coat, rabbit
Procedure:
What happened in session 4
5 days later, new environment introduced and he was assessed for different objects again
Procedure:
Session 4, what was the new environment introduced
A lecture room with 4 other people present
Procedure:
What happened in session 5
1 month later, Albert tested again with different objects like Santa Claus mask, fur coat, the rat and a rabbit
Findings:
Findings of baseline testing
Albert showed no fear towards the rat or any objects, but he responded to loud noise (lips trembling). - showing an unconditioned response
Findings:
Session 1 and session 2
1 - reacted to the noise by crying but showed no fear towards the rat
2 - more hesitant towards the rat, didn’t reach out and crawled away when rat got close to him. After further conditioning he started crying at the rat
Findings:
session 3
reacted with fear towards the white furry objects
findings:
session 4 and session 5
Alberts fear response to white furry objects became less extreme but still remained.
- Time and location had affected this
Conclusion
It is relatively easy to condition an emotional response to a nuetral stimulus, in this study it was done after 2 sessions.
Strength of internal validity
Good tight controls helped reduce the impact of extraneous variables on the study.
Strength of internal validity:
Evidence that tight controls helped reduce extraneous variables
Little albert was specifically picked because of his emotional stability. Reducing chances of individual characteristics affecting the study.
Strength of internal validity:
Why are these tight controls good for the study’s aim
Helped ensure changes in Alberts behaviours were due to the conditioning nad not extraneous variables.
Competing arguement to the good controls
Some aspects of the design were not well controlled for
Competing arguement to the good controls:
Evidence that some actions were not well controlled
The rabbit was suddenly placed in front of Albert, and the reluctant dog was pushed towards him
Competing arguement to the good controls:
What does this evidence mean for the results
These actions could have provoked a fear response to ALbert instead of the conditioning itself.
Weakness of the reliability
Due to the ethical concerns of this study, it unlikely to be replicated.
Weakness of the reliability:
Evidence of some ethical concerns
There was a degree of stress involved when Albert was deliberately shocked by the loud noise, which was meant to be deliberately unpleasant.
Weakness of the reliability:
What did this mean for the study
It shouldn’t be replicated as it would go against BPS guidelines
Strength of applicability
Study led to the understanding on the acquiring of phobias how potential on how to treat them.
Strength of applicability:
Evidence of the good applications on treating phobias
Study led to technique like systematic desensitisation and flooding being developed as a treatment to helping reduced symptoms of phobias
