watson and rayner study

• METHOD

  • john hopkins uni (USA)
  • controlled observation - controlled conditions - well lit dark room, LA on mattress on table
  • recorded responses using a motion picture camera
  • 1 boy, little Albert - 9 months
  • not an experiment - only 1 condition
  • not a case study - focus on responses to conditions, but case study = in depth analysis of individual and their life
• PROCEDURE - emotional tests

  emotional responses tested with: monkey, burning newspaper, masks, rabbit, white rat, dog, cotton wool

  tested with loud sound > strike hammer on suspended steel bar
• PROCEDURE - Session 1 = establishing a conditioned emotional response

  (11m, 3d)

  1. white rat > bar struck when reached
  2. joint stimulation > rat and noise
• PROCEDURE - Session 2 = testing the conditioned emotional response

  (11m, 10d)

  shown control (wooden blocks) to play with

  shown rat with no noise, to see if previous experience affected behaviour with rat

  5 more joint stimulations
• PROCEDURE - Session 3 = generalisation

  (11m, 15d)

  research question - would the learned link generalise to other objects

  presented with : John Watson's hair, fur coat, cotton wool, dog, rabbit, blocks, rat
• PROCEDURE - Session 4 = changing the environment

  (11m, 20d)

  large, well lit lecture room

  LA on table in the centre of the room

  4 people present

  conditioned emotional response > freshened up - more joint stimulation
• PROCEDURE - Session 5 = effect of time

  (1yr, 21d)

  presented with: santa mask, fur coat, blocks, dog, rabbit, rat

  Little Albert tested one last time
• FINDINGS - Emotional tests

  no fear = calm and even tempered

  noise } started violently, raised arms, started to cry
• FINDINGS - Session 1 = establishing a conditioned emotional response

  1. jumped and fell forward > buried head on table
  2. fell forward > began to whimper/cry
• FINDINGS - Session 2 = testing the conditioned emotional response

  played happily with control

  rat with no noise } stared, reached carefully, withdrew when rat nuzzled hand

  join stimulations } more distressed each time > cried and quickly crawled away
• FINDINGS - Session 3 = generalisation

  • rat = fear - conditioned response
  • rabbit = fear - as extreme as rat - crawled away = generalisation of fear
  • JW hair = negative/no fear, played with it
  • dog and fur coat = less extreme fear
  • cotton wool = didn't touch at first > later - less cautious
• FINDINGS - Session 4 = changing the environment

  less extreme fear than before to rat, rabbit and dog > shows learned response > no fear to blocks

  after joint stimulation - fear response = stronger
• FINDINGS - Session 5 = effect of time

  wooden blocks - no fear

  furry = fear response, whimpered, sometimes cried (clearly avoided) certain loss in intensity
• CONCLUSIONS

  • most phobias = conditioned emotional reaction (learned) > phobias in adults can be traced back to the unconscious mind
  • learned response generalises to other objects > LA maintains fearful response to many furry objects over period of time
  • CER = 2 JS, complete reaction = 7 JS
  • persistence of conditioned reaction - only found in people = 'constitutionally inferior' = not very robust
  • findings conflict with freud > LA sucked thumb when scared > form of sexual stimulation

  freud - stimulation = form of pleasure seeking - may be a form of compensation to block fear