LEARNING THEORIES Watson and Rayner study Flashcards
when did this study take place
1920
what was the aim
to demonstrate the principles of classical conditioning can create a fear response
what was the sample
a healthy 9 month old baby - ‘little Albert’
what was the controlled variable
all conducted in a small, quiet, room with the same people present
explain stage 1 - preconditioning stage
- Albert placed on a mattress and his responses to several stimuli were observed
- stimuli included white rat, a loud noise, burning paper, a dog, a monkey
- to find out if Albert had any fears at this stage
explain stage 2 - conditioning trials
- Albert now 11 months
- presented with a white rat, every time he reaches for the rat, a loud noise is made again
- this was repeated multiple times over several weeks
explain stage 3 - post conditioning test
- the effect of conditioning was tested by monitoring Albert’s reaction when left with the rat by itself
what were the results of the preconditioning stage
- Albert showed only fear towards the loud noise
- no fear responses to the other stimuli
what were the results to the post-conditioning stages
- after first trial, Albert showed some distress
- after 2nd trial, seemed suspicious of the rat
- after 3rd, leaned away from the rat and when the rat was put next to him he cried
seven weeks later Albert cried in response to other stimuli such as a fur coat or Santa’s beard
what was concluded
it is possible to produce a fear response in a human using classical conditioning
positives of the study
- high controls - all conducted in a small quiet room with the same people present
- standardised procedure - replicated after a month
- useful applications of phobias
negatives of the study
- ecological validity - lab experiment - not replicable to real life situations
- Albert had hydrocephalus - not generalisable beyond the condition
- ethical - phobias continued for 7 weeks after the experiment - lack of protection - psychological harm - breaches MODERN-DAY protection guideline
