Watson and Rayner (1920) Flashcards
What was the aims of Watson and Rayner (1920)?
To find out if Classical Conditioning works on humans.
Specifically, to find out if a fear response to white rats can be conditioned into a 9 month old baby boy.
Also, to see if the fear response will be generalised to other animals and objects and how long the conditioning lasts
Describe the sample of Watson and Rayner
One baby boy, Albert , aged 9 months at the start of the study and 11 months when the conditioning began.
What happened to Albert at 9 months during Watson and Rayner?
At 9 months, Albert was tested with a white rat, a rabbit, dog, cotton wool, monkey masks, burning newspaper and other stimuli to see if he had a fear reaction. He didn’t.
The researchers also checked his fear response by banging an iron bar. He was only shocked by the noise.
What happened to Albert at 11 months during Watson and Rayner?
At 11 months 3 days, he was shown the white rat suddenly. Each time he reached for the rat it was paired with striking the iron bar. He fell forward but did not cry.
When Albert touched the rat, the bar was struck again. This caused him to whimper.
Tests were not given for the next week to prevent serious disturbance to Albert.
A week later (11 months 10 days), Albert was shown the rat again. He showed interest but withdrew before touching it.
Then the rat was presented paired with the noise 5 more times, with no crying.
At the final presentation of the rat alone, Albert started to cry.
What were Albert’s reaction to some other objects during Watson and Rayner?
Albert showed fear towards a rabbit through leaning away from it and whimpering but did not cry.
When a dog was presented, he whimpered and started to shake his head.
What conclusions can be drawn from Watson and Rayner?
Classical conditioning can be used to create a phobia.
Watson & Rayner concluded that they had successfully conditioned Albert to fear the white rat and that his fear response generalised to other white, furry things (with a stronger response the more closely they resembled the rat) and transferred to other situations.
What were the controls used during Watson and Rayner?
No other white fluffy objects were near Albert while the object was brought in.
The rat was always presented first before the loud noise.
Toy Blocks were always used to calm Albert down to stop carry over effects.
