watson and rayner

Question 1

what were watson and rayners aims?

Answer 1

• to see if they could classically condition the fear of an animal into an 11 month old baby

Question 2

what were watson and rayners procedures?

Answer 2

• protested a 9 month old albert for fear responses - declared as a fearless baby.
• presented a rat to albert, followed by a loud metal bang causing him to cry from fear.
• conditioned after one week by repeating the process, which lasted more than one month, although it got weaker over time

Question 3

what were watson and rayners results?

Answer 3

• conditioning lasted for longer than a month but weakened over time
• fear response was generalised to other objects such as a bunny, santa mask etc

Question 4

what were watson and rayners strengths?

Answer 4

• high reliability as there were strict control measures used such as hiding behind the curtain. a standardised procedure was also used increasing reliability
• high reliability as lots of other studies agree with classical conditioning and the findings of the study
• high applications: classical conditioning can create phobias

Question 5

what are watson and rayners weaknesses?

Answer 5

• low ethics as it caused immense distress to albert and the fear responses were not extinguished potentially causing permanent effects
• low validity as the setting and tasks were artificial
• low generalisability as only one child was used