Little Albert- John Watson

Question 1

What was the purpose of the experiment?

Answer 1

The purpose of the Little Albert experiment was to assess whether classical conditioning processes can be shown in humans, which is the association of a stimulus or behavior with an unrelated one after repeated exposure

Question 2

What type of conditioning was used?

Answer 2

classical conditioning

Question 3

Outcome of Study

and what were the stimuli and responses

Answer 3

The experiment perfectly captured the essence of classical conditioning, and the major elements are listed below.

Neutral stimulus. This is a stimulus that does not create any response initially, and in this experiment it was the white rat.

Unconditioned stimulus. One that causes a reflexive response (uncontrolled), such as the loud noise.

Conditioned stimulus. A stimulus that causes a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus repeatedly, and here it is the white rat (being paired with the loud noise).

Conditioned response. This is the response that is caused by the conditioned stimulus (white rat), which is fear.

Question 4

Why was there backlash on the experiment?

Answer 4

This experiment received a lot of backlash and criticism, and this was primarily due to the participant being a toddler. Ethically, the public saw this experiment as an exploitation of children as well as cruelty to children. This is because Little Albert did experience harm due to the experiment since he left the set-up with a previously non-existent fear of white furry stimuli, and so today this kind of experiment would not be carried out. Watson made no attempt to mitigate the effects of the study on Albert, so the child was allowed to leave with a significant fear of anything white and fluffy or furry