Watson and Rayner (1920) - Evaluation

• The Sample - What is a downside of the findings being unique to Albert?

  It limits the usefulness and generalisability of the findings
• The Sample - How are these findings unique to Albert?

  Little Albert may have responded differently in this experiment to how other young children may have, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest he may have been different to other children his age
• The Sample - What was recorded by Albert's mother?

  It was recorded by his mother that he rarely cried
• The Sample - What was Albert's response when tested with the removal of support?


  He did not show any response
• The Sample - What was the issue with Albert's lack of fear towards any of the stimuli before the study?


  It is likely that many other babies would have shown some fear towards dogs for example
• The Sample - Where was Albert raised?

  He was raised in a hospital environment by a mother who was a wet-nurse. This is an unusual environment for a child to be raised in
• The Sample - What is Watson's entire conclusion based on?

  The assumption that Albert was a normal little boy. However, there is a reason to believe this is not actually true
• The Sample - What is rare about only having one participant?


  For the study that was not a case study, it is very rare to only have one participant
• The Sample - What may be another explanation of Albert's phobia?

  It may be that repeated exposure to an animal leads to a fear response in babies, even without pairing the animal with a loud noise
• The Sample - Why may a lack of a control group be a downside?

  Without a control group to compare to, we cannot say Watson's conclusion conclusively
• The Sample - What did Watson conclude about Albert's phobia?

  Watson concluded that Albert had developed a phobia of the rat and other animals because of his association with the fear produced by the loud noise
• Methodology and Procedures - What is a downside of the lack of ecological validity?

  This means that the study was unnatural and therefore the results may not be able to be generalised to real life
• Methodology and Procedures - What are some methodological issues with this study?

  The setting of the study lacks ecological validity
• Methodology and Procedures - Can this study be replicated?

  Yes, because of the filming and the detailed procedures that Watson recorded. This also means the results can be checked for reliability
• Methodology and Procedures - What is a strength of the study being filmed?

  This means that future psychologists can view the original footage, allowing them to see whether Watson's conclusions were correct
• Methodology and Procedures - How was the study recorded?

  This study was filmed, providing a visual record of everything that happened
• Methodology and Procedures - What is a strength of the use of a baseline test?

  In this way, Watson could be sure that his later fearful responses to the stimuli were because of what was done during the study and not because of Albert's personality.
• Methodology and Procedures - While there was no IV or DV, what test was done with Albert?

  There was a baseline test done with Albert to see what his responses to stimuli would be before the study
• Methodology and Procedures - Where did the study take place?

  The study took place in a controlled environment (the dark room) meaning that extraneous variables could be controlled for
• Methodology and Procedures - What is one of the main strengths to this study?

  One of the main strengths is that Watson and Rayner went to great lengths to ensure a high level of control