Little Albert: A Study in Classical Conditioning
Prof. Anderson
March 1, 2016
General Psychology – PSY1001
Katrina Clarke
South University Online
The researchers elected to initially pair the banging of the bar with the rat to determine if the same or similar reaction was elicited from both objects. First they struck the bar with a hammer, the sound initially startled Albert. Then immediately following the banging of the bar the researchers introduced the rat, at which point Albert began to whimper. Once the rat made contact with Albert, the bar was struck again, causing the child to start crying. Each time the researchers administers the experiment the sequence of events were followed exactly the same to ensure consistency. With any type of learned or conditioned response consistency is important. The researchers found that if the stimuli were introduced consistently that Albert's response would be the same. So each time time Albert was administered the same sequence of events his response to each of the stimuli was the same. Each run, Albert was startled by the first …show more content…
In the case of these tests the UCS would be the bar. When the bar is struck it elicits a response from Albert that is a natural response. Then you have a conditioned stimulus which is (CS) “a previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit the conditioned response. Customarily, in a conditioning experiment, the neutral stimulus is called a conditioned stimulus when it is first paired with an unconditioned stimulus”. In this case the CS would be the rat. It is the neutral stimulus until it is paired with bar. Finally a conditioned response (CR) is “a response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus that has become associated with the unconditioned stimulus”. In this case the CR is the reaction Albert gives when the rat is presented at the same time the bar is struck by the
Prof. Anderson
March 1, 2016
General Psychology – PSY1001
Katrina Clarke
South University Online
The researchers elected to initially pair the banging of the bar with the rat to determine if the same or similar reaction was elicited from both objects. First they struck the bar with a hammer, the sound initially startled Albert. Then immediately following the banging of the bar the researchers introduced the rat, at which point Albert began to whimper. Once the rat made contact with Albert, the bar was struck again, causing the child to start crying. Each time the researchers administers the experiment the sequence of events were followed exactly the same to ensure consistency. With any type of learned or conditioned response consistency is important. The researchers found that if the stimuli were introduced consistently that Albert's response would be the same. So each time time Albert was administered the same sequence of events his response to each of the stimuli was the same. Each run, Albert was startled by the first …show more content…
In the case of these tests the UCS would be the bar. When the bar is struck it elicits a response from Albert that is a natural response. Then you have a conditioned stimulus which is (CS) “a previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit the conditioned response. Customarily, in a conditioning experiment, the neutral stimulus is called a conditioned stimulus when it is first paired with an unconditioned stimulus”. In this case the CS would be the rat. It is the neutral stimulus until it is paired with bar. Finally a conditioned response (CR) is “a response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus that has become associated with the unconditioned stimulus”. In this case the CR is the reaction Albert gives when the rat is presented at the same time the bar is struck by the