Little Albert

Not generalisable

• Individual case
• mentally ill, not representative to mentally stable children

It is reliable

• Meticulously documented so can be replicated
• Standardised procedure so can be replicated
• Evidence that classical conditioning can happen in humans. Pavlov will have found it difficult to generalise to humans if it wasnt for this study

Explains aquisation of phobias through classical conditioning principles and provides therapies such as systematic desensitisation-using classical conditioning concepts to reduce phobias.

High ecological Validity

• noise can be normal noise from real life, and playing with animals is natural for a child

Lacks task validity

• The tasks Albert completed are not done in everyday normal life

Lacks ecological validity

• Conducted in a lab, not familiar environment, but he lived in hospital (maybe some ecological validity)

Valid

• Repeated in a lecture theatre and got same results. They could eliminate environment triggers. So was deffinately the rat that caused fear.
• Allowed to play with bricks to be relaxed. In same mental and emotional state each time he was conditioned.

He suffered distress and wasnt protected from psychological harm.

Too young to give consent

Could have had the phobia for his lifetime.