classic study: Watson and Rayner (1920) conditioned emotional reactions

Question 1

background

Answer 1

• test if classical conditioning works on humans
• condition little albert to fear something he wasn’t scared of (a white rat)
• use reflex actions and new stimuli to create an emotional response
• demonstrate humans can develop fears through association
• single case exp

Question 2

what was the aim of watson and rayner’s 1920 study?

Answer 2

• investigate if an emotional response eg fear could be conditioned
• test if fear could be learnt through association

Question 3

why did watson and rayner choose albert b as the participant?

Answer 3

• albert was healthy and well-developed
• he was relatively fearless and unemotional
• they believed they could do him relatively little harm during the experiment

Question 4

when did watson and rayner test albert for fear reactions?

Answer 4

• when albert was about 9 months old

Question 5

what was albert’s reaction to the stimuli introduced in the study?

Answer 5

• introduced to a white rat, rabbit, cotton wool, and other stimuli
• filmed his reactions
• he showed no fear and was simply interested in the objects

Question 6

what happened when watson and rayner made a loud noise in the study?

Answer 6

• banged a hammer against a suspended steel bar to create a loud noise
• this caused albert to show a fear response
• albert trembled and cried
• it was the first time he had cried in the laboratory

Question 7

what happened when albert was presented with the white rat at 11 months old?

Answer 7

• albert reached for the rat
• as his hand touched it, the hammer struck the steel bar making a loud noise
• albert jumped and fell forward but did not cry
• when he tried to touch the rat again, the loud noise occurred again
• this time, albert jumped violently, fell forward, and began to whimper

Question 8

what happened after the rat and noise were paired together a few times?

Answer 8

• the rat and noise were paired together multiple times
• albert showed increasing distress each time

Question 9

what happened when the rat was presented alone after several pairings?

Answer 9

• the rat was presented alone (without the loud noise)
• albert started to cry immediately, turned, and crawled away

Question 10

what were the results of the study after one week and what did they demonstrate?

Answer 10

• little albert acquired a fear of rats as a learnt emotional response
  
  • the rat and loud noise created an association
  • the rat became a conditioned stimulus, producing fear as a conditioned response
• the fear response generalised to similar objects like a Santa Claus mask, fur coat, and cotton wool
• at age 1 year 21 days, albert was still afraid of the rat, even without the loud noise
  
  • although the response was weaker, it was still present and thought to last a lifetime
• albert was removed from the study, so there was no way to see if the response extinguished (died at age 6)

Question 11

what did watson and rayner conclude from their study?

Answer 11

• it is possible to classically condition the emotional response of fear
• the conditioned response can generalise to other similar objects

Question 12

gen - weakness

Answer 12

• it is a single case exp, so the findings may be limited to albert
• replications of the experiment failed to reproduce the findings

Question 13

reliability - strength

Answer 13

• the study was carefully documented with witnesses recording the data
• there were strict controls in place
• albert’s reactions were carefully recorded, and the setting was controlled
• the independent and dependent variables were clear
• the experiment could be replicated and tested for reliability

Question 14

application (cc)

Answer 14

• pavlov showed classical conditioning in dogs
• it might have been difficult to generalise pavlov’s results to humans
• watson and rayner’s study provides evidence that classical conditioning occurs in humans
• it shows that humans can learn an emotional response through classical conditioning

Question 15

application (phobia)

Answer 15

• it gives insight into how humans might acquire a phobia
• shows phobias can develop through a learnt association (via classical conditioning)

Question 16

validity - strength

Answer 16

• the experiment has good face validity
• it appears that watson and rayner successfully conditioned albert to become fearful of the rat by pairing it with the loud noise

Question 17

validity - weakness

Answer 17

• the study may not be valid due to the artificial setting (laboratory)
• the noise from a hammer on a steel bar could be realistic, but the setting was not natural
• albert was in a laboratory situation, which may have made him initially fearful

Question 18

ethics - weakness

Answer 18

• the study is not ethical
• although the researchers ensured albert was not easily frightened, there is clear evidence he was distressed
• albert was not sufficiently protected from the distress caused by the experiment