John B. Watson
John B. Watson, an American psychologist, was responsible for the Little Albert experiment. It involved classical conditioning with a young boy named Albert to demonstrate how fear can be acquired through conditioning.
Born 9MAR1919. After the experiment, he was sent home back to his mother. Around this time he was 8 months and 26 days old. On 10MAY1925 he later died of hydrocephalus (water in the brain). It is now believed that Little Albert was disabled at birth and Dr. Watson knew so. His experiment has been declared null and void due to these new findings.
The little Albert experiment proved that psychological fears could be influence by classical conditioning. Little Albert, an infant, was first shown a white rat. At first, he was not afraid of the white rat. However, John Watson, leader of the experiment, presented the white rat repeatedly with a frightening high pitched noise (unconditioned stimulus) which scared little Albert (the unconditioned response). After five times, the infant became frightened whenever the white rat was presented (conditioned response). The white rat was what he associated with the fear of the loud noise and was now the conditioned stimulus.
John Watson wanted to demonstrate the principles of classical conditioning by showing that fear could be conditioned in a child (Little Albert) through association with a loud noise (unconditioned stimulus). The experiment aimed to prove that emotions and behavior could be manipulated through conditioning.
Initially, little Albert wanted to touch and play with the rat. However, each time he tried he heard a loud clanging sound. This lead to Albert not wanting to play with the rat, and eventually to be frightened of it. This is connected to conditional learning, as Albert was conditioned to fear the rat through punishment.
John B. Watson, an American psychologist, was responsible for the Little Albert experiment. It involved classical conditioning with a young boy named Albert to demonstrate how fear can be acquired through conditioning.
Born 9MAR1919. After the experiment, he was sent home back to his mother. Around this time he was 8 months and 26 days old. On 10MAY1925 he later died of hydrocephalus (water in the brain). It is now believed that Little Albert was disabled at birth and Dr. Watson knew so. His experiment has been declared null and void due to these new findings.
The little Albert experiment proved that psychological fears could be influence by classical conditioning. Little Albert, an infant, was first shown a white rat. At first, he was not afraid of the white rat. However, John Watson, leader of the experiment, presented the white rat repeatedly with a frightening high pitched noise (unconditioned stimulus) which scared little Albert (the unconditioned response). After five times, the infant became frightened whenever the white rat was presented (conditioned response). The white rat was what he associated with the fear of the loud noise and was now the conditioned stimulus.
John Watson wanted to demonstrate the principles of classical conditioning by showing that fear could be conditioned in a child (Little Albert) through association with a loud noise (unconditioned stimulus). The experiment aimed to prove that emotions and behavior could be manipulated through conditioning.
Initially, little Albert wanted to touch and play with the rat. However, each time he tried he heard a loud clanging sound. This lead to Albert not wanting to play with the rat, and eventually to be frightened of it. This is connected to conditional learning, as Albert was conditioned to fear the rat through punishment.
There is no definitive response that can be given because there were two variables in the experiment that could lead to different conclusions.
John B. Watson, after observing children in the field, was interested in finding support for his notion that the reaction of children, whenever they heard loud noises, was prompted by fear. Furthermore, he reasoned that this fear was innate or due to an unconditioned response
There were many ethical problems with the Little Albert study. Firstly, it was clearly a case of harm to the participant. Albert was consistently made to experience a loud clanging, and ultimately it drove him to feel extreme fear. Secondly, there was not informed consent as Albert was still very young. Thirdly, the right to withdraw was under question as, even as Albert became distressed with the experiment, it continued.
The little Albert experiment was significant for a number of reasons. It showed that fears could be taught over time. It showed that actions or thoughts could be forced in or forced out. It clearly contradicted the idea that biology is everything, and gave solid evidence for the importance of nurture. It also raised ethical questions over what is acceptable experimental procedure, and what isn't.
John B. Watson was a pioneer of behaviorism in psychology, shifting the focus from studying conscious thoughts to observable behaviors. He conducted the famous "Little Albert" experiment, demonstrating how emotions could be conditioned through classical conditioning. Watson's work played a significant role in shaping the field of psychology and laid the foundation for behaviorism as a prominent school of thought.
Watson and Rayner's experiment with little Albert had a number of ethical issues. The most important is harm to the participant. Albert was subjected to loud clanging noises and was made to develop a phobia. He also did not give informed consent as he was only a very small child. For these reasons, the experiment would not be performed today.
Information is scant, but it appears that their experiment was imperfectly designed and not well reported. Little Albert, a pseudonym assigned for the experiment, was the subject of the experiment. He was later removed from the experiment before testing could be competently completed, so, too little data could be gathered. Additionally, and by today's standards, there appear to have been ethical problems associated with the experiment as well. The real Little Albert was reportedly identified after his death in 1925, but there seems to be no confirmation of the authenticity of this claim. The entire episode is clouded by a scandal due to an alleged affair with his partner in this experiment, Rosalie Rayner. Divorce ensued and Watson was subsequently dismissed from his position at Johns Hopkins University and found employment in private sector advertising. Much unreliable information has grown since then, regarding this experiment and it is regarded today as interesting, but of little value of itself.