Little Albert experiment

Definition

The Little Albert experiment was a famous psychological study conducted in 1920 by behaviorist John B. Watson and his graduate student, Rosalie Rayner. The experiment demonstrated how a young child, known as 'Little Albert,' could be conditioned to develop a fear response to a previously neutral stimulus through classical conditioning.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The Little Albert experiment was designed to demonstrate how a child could be conditioned to fear a previously neutral stimulus, in this case, a white rat.
2. The experiment involved pairing the presentation of a white rat (the neutral stimulus) with a loud, startling noise (the unconditioned stimulus), which caused the child to become frightened (the unconditioned response).
3. After repeated pairings of the white rat and the loud noise, the child eventually developed a fear response (the conditioned response) to the sight of the white rat alone, even in the absence of the loud noise.
4. The experiment showed that classical conditioning could be used to instill a fear response in a child, and that this fear response could generalize to other similar stimuli, such as a rabbit, a dog, and even a Santa Claus mask.
5. The Little Albert experiment has been widely criticized for its ethical concerns, as the researchers intentionally conditioned a child to develop a fear response, and the long-term effects of this conditioning on the child's well-being were not adequately addressed.

Review Questions

• Explain how the Little Albert experiment demonstrated the principles of classical conditioning.
  • The Little Albert experiment demonstrated the principles of classical conditioning by pairing a neutral stimulus (the white rat) with an unconditioned stimulus (the loud, startling noise) that elicited a fear response in the child. Through repeated pairings, the child eventually developed a conditioned fear response to the sight of the white rat alone, even in the absence of the loud noise. This showed how a previously neutral stimulus could become a conditioned stimulus that elicited a conditioned response, in this case, a fear response.
• Discuss the ethical concerns surrounding the Little Albert experiment and how it has influenced the development of ethical guidelines in psychological research.
  • The Little Albert experiment has been widely criticized for its ethical concerns. The researchers intentionally conditioned a child to develop a fear response, which could have had long-term negative effects on the child's well-being. The experiment lacked informed consent, as the child's parents were not fully aware of the potential risks involved. The experiment's ethical issues have been instrumental in the development of more stringent ethical guidelines for psychological research, such as the requirement for institutional review boards to approve studies involving human participants, and the emphasis on minimizing harm and respecting the rights and dignity of research subjects.
• Analyze how the findings of the Little Albert experiment have influenced the understanding of the role of learning in the development of phobias and other anxiety disorders.
  • The Little Albert experiment demonstrated that a fear response could be conditioned through classical conditioning, even in a young child. This finding has had a significant impact on the understanding of the role of learning in the development of phobias and other anxiety disorders. Researchers have since explored how similar conditioning processes may contribute to the development of irrational fears and anxieties in individuals, and how these learned responses can be modified through exposure therapy and other behavioral interventions. The Little Albert experiment provided an important foundation for the study of the etiology and treatment of anxiety-related disorders, highlighting the potential power of learning processes in shaping human behavior and emotional responses.

Related terms

Classical Conditioning:

A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus, eventually leading the neutral stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.

Unconditioned Stimulus:

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response, without any prior learning.

Conditioned Stimulus:

In classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus that, through repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to elicit a conditioned response.