Summary Of John Watson's Experiment

John Watson used an experiment with an eight month old baby named Albert to conclude that adult fears are conditioned in early life (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). According to Classics in the History of Psychology (n.d.), the experiment began with a perfectly stable infant. The first step in the experiment was a series of emotional tests. The infant was shown a white rat, a rabbit, a dog, and a monkey in various forms. The findings were recorded. Albert showed no fear during these baseline tests. They then tested and discovered that a sudden, loud sound would cause a negative reaction in Albert. Using this information they began the act of conditioning Albert to be scared of the white rat that he had previously shown no fear of. When presenting …show more content…
Peter was afraid of a white rat. This fear extended to similar furry items. In testing, it was shown Peter feared a rabbit more than a white rat, and this animal was used to continue the unconditioning. In the same way as Watson’s conditioning of fear was implemented by providing a neutral stimulus with something that would cause fear, Cover Jones presented the conditioned stimulus with something pleasant – food. The rabbit would only be presented while Peter was eating his food, so that he would equate something negative with this positive activity. Cover Jones also utilized other children that were not scared of the rabbit for Peter to watch and hopefully imitate. Cover Jones’ experiment was considered successful in that by the end, Peter was even fond of the rabbit. He did not show a liking for the other objects he had previously feared, but he no longer feared them. Cover Jones felt this would have a positive impact on Peter’s life, however, his home was not an ideal situation and his mother used fear suggestions with …show more content…
This led in part to the formation of the APA’s ethical standards. These standards were formed to protect everyone involved in psychology, but have great importance for research. The general principles are as follows: Beneficence and nonmaleficence – this means to do work that benefits people and do no harm. Fidelity and responsibility – to be ethical, professional, and accepting responsibility for their behavior. Integrity – to be honest and accurate. Justice – to be fair to all people. Respect for people’s rights and dignity – to not be biased and treat people fairly. While Mary Cover Jones’ experiment would fit well in today’s ethical standards, Watson’s would not. In the name of science, he caused mental anguish to a child that may well have been long lasting and in no way could that child make informed consent. While it did contribute greatly to the field, it was not beneficial to Albert. Some standards are specific to the field of research. Informed consent, deception in research, and debriefing all seem to relate to more famous experiments. The Milgram experiment comes to mind. The participants were deceived about the study, and could not give informed consent to what they did not