Core Study: Watson and Rayner (1920)

1. Core Study: Watson and Rayner (1920) BATs Outline and evaluate Watson and Rayner’s experiment to induce a phobia in a young child (C+) Little Albert Hand in Revision Booklets please Homework this week – Blog quiz and practice questions - Memory

2. Watson and Rayner (1920) http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/videos/view/20132/ John Watson – Little Albert The idea that Phobias can be learnt through Classical Conditioning is supported by a very famous experiment carried out by John Watson and Rosalie Rayner in 1920 You need to be able to describe this piece research and then evaluate how good it was

3. Over to you .. • Read about Watson and Rayner’s experiment on pages 71-72 • Create a story board to show what they did. Include .. • Aim • Procedure • Results There is a summary sheet if it helps

4. Fill in the key words to explain how a Phobia of rats was induced in Little Albert UCS UCR NS CR CS

5. UCS UCR LOUD BANG FEAR NS WHITE RAT CR CS WHITE RAT FEAR

7. Limitations of Watson & Rayner’s study Explain how the following limitations apply to the study: 1. It lacked ecological validity. Too much control; artificial conditions; relevance to real-life? 2. The sample only consisted of one child. Unrepresentative; difficult to generalise; does it apply to adults and other children? 3. The study was unethical. The child cannot give consent; causing distress; long-term consequences of having a phobia.

8. Over to you again .. • Answer questions 1-7 on page 73, in full sentences • Look at the number of marks for each question – make sure you include enough detail to achieve full marks!!

9. Watson & Rayner (1920) Watson & Rayner’s subject was a baby known as Little Albert, who they first tested at _____ months old. They tested his reactions to a range of different stimuli, none of which frightened him. They were all __________ stimuli. The only stimulus that triggered a natural ______ reaction was a hammer striking a steel bar. When Albert was just over _________ months old, Watson & Rayner brought him back to their laboratory. Their aim was to ____________ him to fear a white rat. They did this by offering it to the boy. As Albert reached out to stroke the rat, Watson crept behind the baby and brought the hammer crashing down on the steel bar! This was repeated ________ times over the next two weeks. By the end of the trials, the rat on its own was enough to frighten Albert even though it had not done before. When presented with the rat he would now cry and try to avoid it. Watson & Rayner had successfully (and deliberately!) conditioned a _______ of rats in the boy.

10. Watson & Rayner (1920) Watson & Rayner’s subject was a baby known as Little Albert, who they first tested at nine months old. They tested his reactions to a range of different stimuli, none of which frightened him. They were all neutral stimuli. The only stimulus that triggered a natural fear reaction was a hammer striking a steel bar. When Albert was just over eleven months old, Watson & Rayner brought him back to their laboratory. Their aim was to condition him to fear a white rat. They did this by offering it to the boy. As Albert reached out to stroke the rat, Watson crept behind the baby and brought the hammer crashing down on the steel bar! This was repeated seven times over the next two weeks. By the end of the trials, the rat on its own was enough to frighten Albert even though it had not done before. When presented with the rat he would now cry and try to avoid it. Watson & Rayner had successfully (and deliberately!) conditioned a phobia of rats in the boy.