Lecture Notes: Behavioral Psychology and the Little Albert Experiment

Key Figures and Concepts

• John B. Watson

  • Established the behavior school of psychology.
  • Conducted influential psychology studies in the 1920s.

• Classical Conditioning

  • First experimented by Ivan Pavlov using dogs.
  • Involves using an unconditioned stimulus to produce an unconditioned response and a conditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response.

The Little Albert Experiment

• Subject: Little Albert

  • Baby born to a nurse at Harriet Lane Home of Invalid Children.
  • Developed normally and was stable despite hospital environment.

• Objective: To see if classical conditioning could apply to humans.

Initial Experiment

• Objects Presented to Albert
  • Fire, monkey, dog, rabbit, and a white rat.
  • Albert showed positive reactions, particularly liked the white rat.

Conditioning Process

• Method

  • When Albert reached for the rat, a loud bar was struck.
  • Albert startled, then cried upon the second reach.
  • Conditioned fear response successfully induced.

• Generalization

  • Albert reacted negatively to similar objects, such as a rabbit and a dog.
  • Reaction was induced by characteristics reminiscent of the white rat.

Experiments in Different Settings

• Change of Environment

  • Tests moved from a small dark room to a larger room.
  • Initially, no strong withdrawal symptoms without loud noise.

• Time-Based Conditioning

  • Albert taken home and returned after one month.
  • Upon return, showed strong withdrawal signs when objects were paired with loud noises.

Conclusions

• Findings

  • Phobias were likely conditioned responses.
  • Watson’s study showed fear could be conditioned and retained over time.

• Impact

  • The experiment has inspired further research within psychology.
  • Continues to impact psychological investigation and theories today.

Opponent Process Theory

• Vision Theory

  • Proposed by Hering with pairs of color receptors:
    • Red-green
    • Yellow-blue
    • Black-white

• Conceptual Understanding

  • The theory suggests colors are perceived through opposing receptor pairs.