Classic: Watson + Rayner Flashcards
What was the aim of the Watson and Rayner study?
To demonstrate that simple emotional responses such as Fear can be acquired through classical conditioning.
What were the findings of Watson and Rayner study?
At baseline testing Albert displayed no fear in the objects but he did respond to the loud noise as he was startled and his lips trembled.
What was the conclusion of Watson and Rayners study?
That it was relatively easy to condition an emotional response to a neutralstimulus
Evaluate the generalisability of Watson and Rayner
As the study was done on a single child isn’t very representative as a defect in the child could’ve made it more likely to show fear reducing credibility.
Evaluate the reliability of the Watson and Rayner study
They used a standardised procedure and documented and filmed the study meaning it could be replicated but it can’t due to bad ethics. Documentation also increases the interrater reliability as other psychologists can assess the data.
Evaluate the application of Watson and Rayner’s study
Flooding
By exposing a patient to the third stimuli letting them experience panic and where are they then realise that the stimulus isn’t as harmful as they think it is.
Evaluate the ethics of Watson and Rayner
The ethics weren’t great as they caused Deliberate distress to an infant and continued even though the child was upset. They also didn’t extinguishers for possibly leaving him with long-term phobias ignores the principle of reducing harm.
What was the procedure of Watson and rayner?
Split into 5 sessions
1. A white rat was given to Albert and a bar was struck loudly behind his head.
2. This was repeated 5 times a week later. Showed no fear to other toys.
3. Days later Albert was tested again with a range of other objects. Eg: rabbit.
4. Days later Albert was taken into a new environment and once again was assessed for responses to various objects.
5. One month later tested again with various objects like a rat and the rabbit.
