Watson and Rayner (1920)

Watson and Rayner (1920)

Aim: They wanted to find out two things:

1. Can we condition fear of an animal by visually presenting it and simultaneously striking a steel bar?

2. If a conditioned emotional response can be established, will there be a transfer to other animals/objects?

Method: At about 9 months of age, Little Albert was presented with a range of stimuli, e.g. white rat, rabbit, dog, monkey, etc. He showed no fear to any of the objects. When he reached 11 months, the experiment began. To test the first aim, Albert was presented with a white rat again. When he reached out to touch the rat, Watson struck an iron bar immediately behind his head.…