classic: watson and rayner 1920

why did Watson and Rayner choose to carry out the study on a baby?

so they could condition them to have an emotional response to something new

what type of experiment is Little Albert?

a single case experiment

what was the aim of the study?

to investigate whether an emotional response (such as fear) could be conditioned

why did Watson and Rayner choose Albert B as a participant for their study?

he was healthy from birth and well-developed, relatively fearless and unemotional which led them to believe they could do him little harm

how old was Little Albert when he was tested for fear reactions?

9 months old

what was the stimuli Albert was introduced to which gained no fear response?

a white rat, rabbit, and cotton wool

what did Watson and Rayner find gained a fear response from Albert?

a hammer banged against a suspended steel bar to make a loud noise

what was the procedure carried out to Albert at 11 months old?

he was presented with a white rat, and when he went to touch it, the hammer struck the steel bar behind his head causing him to jump back, when he reached for the white rat against the same loud noise was produced, causing him to show distress

when did Little Albert show increasing distress?

after multiple pairings of the white rat and loud noise

what happened after the rat was presented alone after several pairings with the loud noise?

Albert started to cry immediately and began to crawl away

what happened before conditioning in Watson and Rayner's study?

the unconditioned stimulus of the loud noise of the hammer and steel bar gained the unconditioned response of fear, with the neutral stimulus of the white rat initially gaining no response

what happened during conditioning in Watson and Rayner's study?

the white rat was paired with the loud noise of the hammer and steel bar, resulting in the unconditioned response of fear

what happened after conditioning in Watson and Rayner's study?

the conditioned stimulus of the white rat and other white objects led to the conditioned response of fear

what were the results after one week of the Little Albert experiment?

he had acquired a fear of rats as a learnt emotional response, as the pairings had created an association

what was Albert's fear response to the rat generalised to?

other similar furry objects, such as a santa claus mask, fur coat, and cotton wool

when was Albert tested again?

at 1 year and 21 days old, a month after the pairing experiment

what were the results found when Albert was tested again?

he was still afraid of the white rat without the loud noise, the response was slightly weaker but still present

why was there no way of seeing if Little Albert's responses extinguished?

Albert was removed from the study

what was the conclusion of Watson and Rayner's study?

it is possible to classically condition the emotional response of fear, and the conditioned response can be transferred to other similar objects