Watson’s Classical Conditioning Experiment
Copy and paste the following line in a Google search:
Watson J. B., & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional
reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3(1), 1-14.
Read the article and answer the following questions in your
essay:
Explain the initial pairing of the banging bar and the rat
in terms of learning through classical conditioning. What is unconditioned
stimulus (US), conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned response (CR)?
How were Watson and Rayner able to condition Albert to react
to different stimuli such as masks, other animals, and a fur coat? Explain the
concept of generalization.
Why didn’t the conditioning last over time? Explain the
concept of extinction.
Considering the current standards, can the same experiment
be conducted (or replicated) by researchers today? Explain some of the ethical
issues related to the experiment.
Make sure you cite the article you read as well as the
textbook, if used.
