video: John watson: baby albert

Overview of Little Albert Experiment

• Conducted by: Psychologists John Watson and Rosalie Rayner

• Subject: Baby boy known as Little Albert

• Goal: To teach Little Albert to fear white rats using classical conditioning.

Phases of the Study

Pre-Conditioning Phase

• Observation: Little Albert showed no fears of any animals, including white rats.

Conditioning Phase

• Method: The study involved a conditioning process that was not filmed.

• Procedure:

  • A loud noise was produced by striking a steel bar with a hammer whenever Albert reached for the rat, causing distress.

  • After pairing the loud noise with the presence of the rat six times, anxiety towards white rats was induced.

• Outcome: It was believed that Albert had developed a conditioned fear of white rats—the expectation was that he would react fearfully even in the absence of the loud noise.

Testing for Conditioned Fear

Post-Conditioning Observation

• Film Sequence: Little Albert interacting with a white rat post-conditioning.

• Expectation: Investigators anticipated that Albert would demonstrate his newly acquired fear.

Generalization of Conditioned Fear

• Hypothesis: Conditioned fear would generalize to other stimuli similar to white rats.

• Testing: Observations included reactions to:

  • A rabbit

  • A dog

  • A furry object

  • A white mask worn by Watson

• Expected Reaction: Fearful responses to these stimuli indicated generalization of the learned fear.