Little Emotional Little Emotional AlbertAlbert

Little Emotional Little Emotional AlbertAlbert

Rachel Walterman, Jamie Clay, Rachel Walterman, Jamie Clay, Jess Schweer, Candace CornickJess Schweer, Candace Cornick

Little Emotional Albert• John B. Watson, Rosalie Raynor• 1920• Freud’s psychoanalysis dominated

psychology • Watson sought to disprove that

biological processes were the only explanation for emotions

Little Emotional Albert• Albert was an orphan and an only

child• Raised from birth in hospital

environment• Emotionally and physically healthy• Happy baby

Little Emotional Albert• Watson’s theory: Emotional

responses exist because humans have been conditioned to respond to stimuli in the environment

• We learn our emotions

Little Emotional Albert• Watson’s goals:

– Can we condition fear of an animal by striking a steel bar simultaneously?

– Can the conditioned emotion be transferred to other objects?

– What is the effect of time on conditioned responses?

– How can the conditioned response be removed (extinction)?

Little Emotional Albert• Method

– Albert was presented with stimuli to observe his reactions to them:• White rat, rabbit, dog, monkey, mask

with and without hair, and white cotton wool

• Albert did not show any fear to any of the situations he was presented with

Little Emotional Albert• Tested reaction to loud noises by

hammering a steel bar• The noise startled him and he

cried• This is an unconditioned stimulus

because the fear does not have to be learned

Little Emotional Albert• Conditioning began at age 11 months• Albert was presented with the white rat

and a loud noise simultaneously• At first, Albert was interested in the rat

and wanted to touch it, but as soon as he reached for it a metal bar was struck, causing him to be frightened

Little Emotional Albert• Process was repeated 3 times• One week later, the same

procedure was followed• After 7 times, the rat was presented

to Albert and he reacted with fear• He cried, turned over and crawled

away

Little Emotional Albert• Watson was curious if the behavior

would transfer to other objects – generalization

• The next week Albert was tested again and found to still be afraid of the rat

• Then, an object similar to the rat (a white rabbit) was presented to him

• Albert instantly showed signs of fear – crying and crawling away

Little Emotional Albert• Albert was not afraid of the rabbit

prior to the study• He had generalized a stimulus• He was then presented with a

package of cotton, a fur coat, and a Santa Claus mask and reacted fearfully to each one

Little Emotional Albert• To increase the significance of the

findings, Albert was tested in a different environment

• Albert was brought to a different hospital room with brighter light and more people present

• His reactions to the stimuli are presented in the following table:

Little Emotional AlbertStimulus Presented Reaction Observed

1. Blocks Played as usual

2. Rat Fearful withdrawal (no crying)

3. Rat + Noise Fear and crying

4. Rat Fear and crying

5. Rat Fear, crying, crawling away

6. Rabbit Fear, but less strong reaction

7. Blocks Played as

8. Rabbit Same as 6

9. Rabbit Same as 6

10. Rabbit Some fear, but also wanted to touch rabbit

11. Dog Fearful Avoidance

12. Dog + Noise Fear and crawling away

13. Blocks Normal play

Little Emotional Albert• Final Test:

– To study if Albert’s learned emotional responses would persist over time

– However, Albert was adopted and the tests were discontinued for 31 days

– He was brought back and tested with the same stimuli and continued to be fearful

– Researchers planned to recondition Albert of his fears, but he left the hospital on the day the tests were scheduled

– No reconditioning took place

Little Emotional Albert• Significant Findings:

– Watson’s theory can explain human emotions in simple terms

– Freud criticized as too complex to accurately explain behavior

– Emotional disturbances can not always be contributed to childhood trauma

– Phobias and sexual fetishes could be developed from similar conditioning

Little Emotional Albert• Discussion Questions:

1. Even though Watson’s experiment was done in 1920, would you consider it ethical at that time?

2. Do you think that such fears would have occurred naturally had Albert not been in the experiment?

3. Do you think that the number of times Albert was conditioned affected his responses?

Little Emotional Albert4. Do you think that the fact that Albert was

raised in a hospital played a role in his reactions?

5. Do you think that a fear learned during infancy could transfer to adulthood?

6. Could this study be generalized among all children or was he just a spaz?

7. How could the experiments’ effects be reversed?

Little Albie

Where’s Albert ????