Chapter 10 & 11 Flashcards
Who was Little Albert?
A 9-month-old infant used in an experiment to study conditioned emotional responses
Albert was initially unafraid of a white rat until conditioned to fear it.
What experiment did John B. Watson conduct with Little Albert?
Watson paired the sight of a white rat with a loud noise to condition fear in Albert
The noise was created by striking a steel bar with a hammer.
What was the outcome of the Little Albert experiment?
Albert associated the rat with fear and began to cry when seeing the rat or other fuzzy objects
Fear generalized to other stimuli like dogs and Santa Claus masks.
What conclusion did Watson draw from the Little Albert experiment?
Adult fears and phobias are conditioned responses established early in life
Watson rejected the notion of the unconscious mind.
What was John B. Watson’s major contribution to psychology?
Founding behaviorism and promoting a focus on observable behavior rather than consciousness
He published ‘Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It’ in 1913.
What were the basic tenets of Watson’s behaviorism?
Focus on observable actions driven by stimuli rather than conscious thought
This included the rejection of introspection and the study of consciousness.
What was Watson’s view on child-rearing?
Advocated for strict behaviorism in childrearing, treating children as mini adults
He published ‘Psychological Care of the Infant and Child’ in 1928.
Watson’s childrearing practices effect on his children?
His children reported emotional unresponsiveness and difficulties expressing feelings
Watson’s methods led to issues like depression in his children.
What were the three primary unconditioned emotional responses identified by Watson?
- Fear
- Rage
- Love
These responses could be elicited in infants through specific stimuli.
What is systematic desensitization?
A behavioral therapy technique demonstrated by Mary Cover Jones to reduce fear responses
It involved gradual exposure to the feared object, supporting Watson’s theories.
True or False: Watson believed that thoughts could not be studied scientifically.
False
He argued that thoughts could be reduced to speech reactions.
What did the Law of Mass Action state?
The efficiency of learning is a function of the total mass of cortical tissue
This was proposed by Karl Lashley.
What was Watson’s stance on instincts?
Described instincts as socially conditioned responses rather than inherited traits
He emphasized the importance of environmental influences over genetic factors.
Fill in the blank: Watson’s behaviorism was eventually challenged by the principles of _______.
[Karl Lashley]
What did Watson argue about phobias?
All phobias are learned reactions and not derived from the unconscious
He believed fear could be generalized to similar stimuli.
Who was Mary Cover Jones?
Known as the mother of behavior therapy, she demonstrated systematic desensitization
She conducted experiments to alleviate phobias in children.
What was Watson’s view on women’s roles?
He held misogynistic views and argued against women’s rights, claiming they lost attractiveness with age
His writings reflected these biases.
How did Watson’s behaviorism influence public perception of psychology?
It popularized psychology as a path to happiness and well-being
People were drawn to behaviorism for solutions to personal issues.
What was the significance of the Watson-McDougall debate?
McDougall won by arguing for the necessity of introspection and free will in understanding human experience
This debate highlighted the limitations of Watson’s behaviorism.
What did Watson propose about the role of the experimenter?
The experimenter plays a more important role than the subject
Subjects respond to stimuli rather than providing introspective observations.
What were the three stages of behaviorism?
- Stage 1: Watson’s behaviorism
- Stage 2: Neo behaviorism (Tolman, Hull, Skinner)
- Stage 3: Further developments in behaviorism
The stages reflect the evolution of behaviorist thought.
Who established the IQ Zoo?
Keller and Marian Breland
They applied conditioning techniques to animal behavior, creating trained-animal shows.
Who are Keller and Marian Breland?
Former psychologists who applied conditioning techniques to animal behavior
They were trained in basic conditioning techniques from B. F. Skinner.
What is Operationism?
The validity of any scientific finding is based on the validity of the methods used to arrive at that conclusion
Promoted by Percy Bridgman and embraced by neobehaviorists.