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Watson and Rayner (1920) – Conditioned Emotional Reactions
“Little Albert” – Evaluation
Ethical Implications
☹ Failure to Protect from Psychological Harm: Watson and Rayner realised that
what they were doing was distressing to Albert; “in order not to disturb the child
too seriously no further tests were given for a week”
...
However, they had to
remove his thumb to ensure that Little Albert would be fully scared
...
It was no worse than what would be experienced in the “rough
and tumble of home”
...
This could lead to a possibility of a long-term phobia or the researchers
could have ensured that Albert was deconditioned
...
Also, his mother didn’t know
about the extent of the study otherwise she wouldn’t pull Albert out of the study
– she may not have left Albert to take part in the first place
...

There were images of Alberts reactions to the stimulus
...

😊 Right to Withdraw: Albert’s mother removed him from the study when she
felt that Albert had negative impacts
...


Social Implications
Workplace:
 Application to advertising
 Stress response through association
 Google allows employees to wear casual clothes as they associate their
clothes with freedom/creativity
Health:
 Using association in health campaigns
 Therapies – cure for phobias
 Hospital/doctors waiting room should be more inviting
Law:
 Raises the question of responsibility
 Stop smacking children
 Conditioning society
 Use of aversion therapy for undesirable behaviours
Education:
 Conditioning used
 Classroom environment – pleasant association
 Learning techniques
Families:
 Use of conditioning to shape behaviours (child rearing
 Nurture and childrearing practices – condition your child to be what you
want
Conclusion: The ethical costs are unacceptable as a great deal of harm was
done towards Albert
...

Overall, I think the study is unethical as there are more extreme ethical costs
than benefits
...
e
...

The evolutionary idea of biological preparedness was put forward by Martin
Seligman (1970)
...

Additionally, not all phobias are preceded by a conditioning episode (a traumatic
experience)
...

Therefore, learning alone cannot explain all the phobias
...
If only classical conditioning was involved in the
acquisition of phobias, then phobias might just disappear over time
...


☹The SampleWatson's entire conclusion is based on the assumption that Albert was
a “normal” little boy
 This could link to the participant's weakness as the results cannot be
generalised
 The assumption that Albert was normal would decrease reliability as there
could have been a minor difference between Albert and a “normal” child
 As Albert tended to show “no fear” and “practically never cried”

Watson and Rayner (1920) – Conditioned Emotional Reactions
“Little Albert”
Methodology
Research Method:
 Controlled
Observation
Participant:
 A normal 9month-old infant
referred to as
“Albert B” in the
study
Albert was placed on a
mattress that was on top
of a table in a well-lit
room (I
...
a room where
photographs are
developed) – carried out
in controlled conditions

Procedure
Emotional Tests: Baseline for comparison
 Tested Alberts responses to certain
objects, he was confronted with: White
rat, a dog, a mask with and without hair,
cotton wool, a rabbit, a monkey, a
burning newspaper
 The first time he had seen these objects
 Albert was then tested with a loud sound
(made by striking a hammer on a steel bar)
 One researcher got Albert’s attention while
the other struck the bar behind Alberts'
head
Session 1: Establishing a Conditioned Emotional
Response
 11 months and 3 days old he was brought
to the “lab” again
 A white rat was presented to him and
Albert started to reach for it
 At that moment, the bar was struck just
behind his head
Session 2: Testing the Conditioned Emotional
Response
 At 11 months and 10 days (a week), Albert
returned for more testing
 He was shown the rat with no sound to
see if the previous experience affected his
behaviour with the rat

Findings
Emotional Tests:
 Albert showed no fear response to the
objects
 Both the mother and hospital workers
said that they had never seen him in a
state of fear or rage – practically never
cried
 In response to the loud noise Albert:
“started violently, his breathing was
checked, and the arms were raised”,
“the child broke into a sudden crying fit”

Conclusions
This study demonstrated the ease
with which a fear response can be
created
...


Session 2: Testing the Conditioned Emotional
Response (part b)

Just two “joint stimulations” in
the first week was sufficient to
create an emotional response
...


Watson and Rayner suggest that
“it is probable” that many phobias
are acquired in this way
...

Watson and Rayner would say his
fear of seal skin is that it was

Session 2: Testing the Conditioned Emotional
Response (part b)
 After this, Albert was exposed 5 more
times to the “joint stimulation”



Albert became more and more
distressed
 When he was again shown the rate, he
began to cry and “began to crawl away
so rapidly that he was caught with
difficulty”
Session 3: Generalisation
Season 3: Generalisation
 At 11 months and 15 days, Albert returned
 Albert played happily with the blocks
for further testing
 He immediately responded with fear
 The researcher’s question was whether the
when shown the rat
learned link between the rate and noise
 His response to the rabbit was as
would be generalised
extreme as to the rat
 Albert was presented with the rat, wooden
 He burst into tears and crawled away
blocks, a rabbit, a dog, a seal fur coats and
 Neither the dog of the fur coat produced
John Watson’s hair
a violent reaction
 To other objects, he showed cautions,
but no fear response to Johns' hair
Session 4: Changing the Environment
Session 4: Changing the Environment
 At 11 months and 20 days, Alberts
 Alberts response to the rat, rabbit and
conditioned response was “freshened”
dog were less extreme than before
using “joint stimulation”
 After “freshening up” the conditioned
 He was taken to a new environment – a
fear response was stronger
large, well-lit room with 4 people present
 Even when the fear response was weak,
 He placed on a table in the centre of the
it was noticeably different from his
room
reaction to the building blocks
 Showing a distinct learned response
persisted between furry objects
Session 5: The Effect of Time
Session 5: The Effect of Time
 At 12 months and 21 days, Albert was
 Albert responded to the objects in a
tested on more time
clearly different way to the control
 He had been to the lab, but no emotional
objects (the blocks)
tests had been conducted
 His reaction to the furry objects was not
 The final tests involved a Father Christmas
as extreme as it was previously, but he
mask, a fur coat, the rat, the rabbit, the
had clearly avoided and whimpered, and
dog and the blocks
on occasions cried

conditioned by the white rat

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