Experiments

Question 1

Watson and Rayner’s “Little Albert”

Answer 1

“Little Albert” learned to fear a white rat after repeatedly experiencing a loud noise as the rat was presented

Question 2

Thorndike’s Cat in a Puzzle Box

Answer 2

Use of a fish reward to entice cats to find their way out of a puzzle box. The law of effect states, “responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation and behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be stopped.”

Question 3

Skinner’s Box

Answer 3

Through this experiment, Skinner coined the term, “operant conditioning”. Skinner displayed positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Skinner also introduced the notion of behavior shaping through successive approximation.