Watson and Rayner (pack 2)

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

test whether c.c occurs in humans.

Question 2

what 3 things did they set out to find out?

Answer 2

1. Whether they could condition a fear of an animal by simultaneously presenting the animal and striking a steel bar to make a loud noise to frighten the child
2. whether the fear would be transferred to other animals and objects
3. The effect of time on the conditioned response

Question 3

stage 1 of the procedure

Answer 3

L.A was ‘calm and unemotional’

9 months- carried out emotional tests to the stimuli…he showed no fear whatsoever to rats etc.

banged a hammer against steel, L.A had a fear response as lip puckered

Question 4

stage 2 of the procedure

Answer 4

11 months and 3 days

still no fear response to rabbit etc.

Just as right hand touched the rat, bar was struck and he jumped violently, fell forward and whimpered

Question 5

stage 3 of the procedure

Answer 5

11 months 10 days

presented rat without sounds- was tentative, withdrew body to left

blocks- played fine with no problem

Question 6

stage 4 of the procedure

Answer 6

11 months 15 days

transferred to different stimuli

blocks- played well
fur coat- withdrew to left and began to fret

Question 7

stage 5 of the procedure

Answer 7

11 months 20 days
association had weakened so renewed it

rat alone- fell to left and strong reaction

Question 8

stage 6 of the procedure

Answer 8

different surroundings

rat alone- slight negative reaction

Question 9

what was the follow up procedure

Answer 9

1 year and 21 days
rat- negative reaction

Question 10

conclusions (2)

Answer 10

1. a conditioned response of fear can occur in humans after even only a few pairings of stimulus
2. the conditioned response can be generalised to similar objects and settings

Question 11

generalisability

Answer 11

W- case study of one individual, he was only 9 months can’t generalise outside age range
S- BUT W&R still fulfilled their aim successfully

Question 12

reliability

Answer 12

S- high as methodology was simple and well documented and easily replicated… L.A exposed to loud noise in standardised proc. Blocks used as a control

W- unethical, so would not be able to be replicated anyway

Question 13

applications

Answer 13

provides explanation of how fear response is learned

systematic desensitisation

Question 14

validity

Answer 14

S- study was scientific and carried out in lab settings with high controls, blocks used as a baseline, cause and effect- psych as a science

Question 15

ecological validity

Answer 15

W- in controlled conditions, quiet and small room, most babies learn in complex environments
S- did move L.A to another room with more people
BUT
It was still controlled and proc. was artificial

Question 16

ethics

Answer 16

S- did not exist at the time of the study
W- prior to experiment L.A was not fearful and became fearful so they did not protect from psych harm
crying etc
Mother and Father gave consent BUT not made clear how much they would know of what would happen to L.A