Watson and Raynor

Question 1

Background

Answer 1

• Chose Little Albert as their participant
• Reared almost from birth in a hospital environment, his mother was a wet nurse in the Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children
• Thought the study would do no harm, comforting themselves by the reflection that such attachments would arise anyway
• No one had ever seen him in a state of fear and rage and he never cried
• Hospital environment was a natural environment for Albert

Question 2

11 Months and 3 Days

Answer 2

1. White rat suddenly taken from the basket and shown in Albert, just as his hand touched the animal the bar struck immediately behind his head. He jumped violently and fell forward but did not cry
2. Just as his hand touched the rat the bar again struck. Again the infant jumped violently, fell forward and began to whimper

Question 3

11 Months and 10 Days

Answer 3

1. Rat presented with no sound. When the rat nosed the infants hand, the hand was immediately withdrawn.
   He was tested with his blocks. He began to pick them up. In the remainder of the tests the blocks were given to quiet him and test his emotional state

Question 4

7 episodes of joint stimulation

Answer 4

• The rat was presented alone and the instant the rat was shown the baby began to cry.
  Began to crawl away for rapidly that he was caught with difficulty.
  -This was a convincing case of a conditioned fear response
• Five days later brought back in to see if the fear had been generalised and tested

Question 5

11 Months and 15 Days

Answer 5

1. Tested with blocks.
2. Rat alone. Whimpered immediately
3. Blocks again
4. Rat alone. Leaned over to the left side as far away from the rat
5. Blocks again offered
6. Rabbit alone. Whimpered then burst into tears
7. Blocks again.
8. Dog alone. Albert straightened up and fell over to the opposite side and turned his head away. He then began to cry
9. Blocks again
10. Fur coat. Began to cry and crawled away
11. Cotton wool. Avoided contact with the wool.
12. Santa mask. Negative reaction

Question 6

Conclusion

Answer 6

That they had succeeded in conditioning in an infant fear of an animal the child would not ordinarily be frightened of. Watson and Raynor concluded it might last a lifetime.
Unfortunately, Albert was taken from the hospital, the opportunity of removing the
conditioned emotional response was denied. Watson and Raynor believed there responses in the home environment are likely to persist

Question 7

Low in generalisability

Answer 7

Study of one child, it lacks population validity, as it cannot be generalised to others, Little Albert may have responded differently in this experiment to how other children may have, so its unique to him

Question 8

Study is high in reliability

Answer 8

Standardised procedures, such as pre conditioning phase and the 7 episodes of joint stimulation, means that it could be replicated

Question 9

Study is low in reliability

Answer 9

There was only one participant, so we cannot say that the results are reliable

Question 10

Findings can be applied to real life

Answer 10

Given us an understanding the development of fears, especially irrational fears.
If we can understand how phobias do develop we can incorporate them into treatment of this form behaviour.
Learn to replace the feeling of a phobia with relaxation

Question 11

Study is low in validity

Answer 11

As there was no control group, we cannot be sure that the conditioning caused the fear.
For example, it could merely have been repeated exposure to a strange animal and subsequent similar items

Question 12

There were ethical issues

Answer 12

Little Albert was not protected from harm, Watson and Raynor did not have the opportunity to de condition Little Alberts fears. His mother may not have fully understood the implications of the study