SU PSY1001 W2 A2 Whelchel
Little Albert: Conditioned Emotional Reactions
Victoria Whelchel
Intro to Psychology
Dec. 9, 2014
Jade Bost
Explain the initial pairing of the banging bar and the rat in terms of learning through classical conditioning. What is unconditioned stimulus (US), conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned response (CR)?
Albert is a nine month old boy who was subject to emotional testing. He went through a series of pretesting and was eventually introduced to a white rat. Albert initially had no fear of the rat but every time he would reach out to touch it he heard the sound of a hammer hitting a steel bar. The tests eventually led to the following results: First they introduced the banging of the steel bar (unconditioned stimuli) causing fear (unconditioned response) in Albert. They then introduced a white rat to Albert who initially had no fear of the rat. Every time Albert reached out to touch the rat the loud banging was heard, which eventually resulted in Albert being afraid to touch the rat. Finally they introduced just the rat (conditioned stimulus) without the loud banging still caused fear (conditioned response) in Albert.
How were Watson and Rayner able to condition Albert to react to different stimuli such as masks, other animals, and a fur coat? Explain the concept of generalization.
Watson and Rayner were able to condition Albert by introducing other objects which were similar in nature to the white rat. The rabbit that was brought in was white, the mask of Santa that was used had white cotton balls attached to it, and the fur coat that was brought in was also white. This led Albert to generalization that white furry things equal fear.
Why didn't the conditioning last over time? Explain the concept of extinction.
The conditioning did last but was less intense because it was not reinforced (extinction). Albert's reactions to the animals and objects weren't as strong as they were in the beginning of the experiment. Without the banging bar,
Victoria Whelchel
Intro to Psychology
Dec. 9, 2014
Jade Bost
Explain the initial pairing of the banging bar and the rat in terms of learning through classical conditioning. What is unconditioned stimulus (US), conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned response (CR)?
Albert is a nine month old boy who was subject to emotional testing. He went through a series of pretesting and was eventually introduced to a white rat. Albert initially had no fear of the rat but every time he would reach out to touch it he heard the sound of a hammer hitting a steel bar. The tests eventually led to the following results: First they introduced the banging of the steel bar (unconditioned stimuli) causing fear (unconditioned response) in Albert. They then introduced a white rat to Albert who initially had no fear of the rat. Every time Albert reached out to touch the rat the loud banging was heard, which eventually resulted in Albert being afraid to touch the rat. Finally they introduced just the rat (conditioned stimulus) without the loud banging still caused fear (conditioned response) in Albert.
How were Watson and Rayner able to condition Albert to react to different stimuli such as masks, other animals, and a fur coat? Explain the concept of generalization.
Watson and Rayner were able to condition Albert by introducing other objects which were similar in nature to the white rat. The rabbit that was brought in was white, the mask of Santa that was used had white cotton balls attached to it, and the fur coat that was brought in was also white. This led Albert to generalization that white furry things equal fear.
Why didn't the conditioning last over time? Explain the concept of extinction.
The conditioning did last but was less intense because it was not reinforced (extinction). Albert's reactions to the animals and objects weren't as strong as they were in the beginning of the experiment. Without the banging bar,