Conditioned Emotional Response - Complete, Summaries of Social Psychology of Emotion

Download Conditioned Emotional Response - Complete and more Summaries Social Psychology of Emotion in PDF only on Docsity! Conditioned Emotional Reactions!! By John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920)!!!!!!!! One theory proposes that because there are very few patterns of emotional reaction during infancy compared to the wide range observed in adulthood, there must be a way of increasing the range of stimuli which provide emotional reactions. It was believed that the early home life of the child acted as the laboratory within which this range could be increased through conditioning. This theory is tested here on one child, Albert B, who was chosen for his strong physical health and emotional stability. Albert was used in four experiments which aimed to answer four questions about conditioning emotional responses.! • Can fear of a previously neutral stimulus be conditioned by presenting it simultaneously with an established negative stimulus?! • Could this conditioned response be transferred to other animals or objects?! • Does this conditioned response change over time? ! • If, after a reasonable period, the emotional responses have not died out, how might they be removed?!!! Establishing a conditioned emotional response!! The testing began when Albert was 11 months old. The procedure is described below.! 1. A white rat is presented to Albert who then reaches for it. As he touches the rat a loud noise is made behind him by hitting a steel bar with a hammer. He is startled and falls backwards. ! 2. Joint stimulation with rat and sound. This time Albert starts to cry. ! 3. Joint stimulation is repeated 6 more times and Albert cries and starts withdrawing from the rat as soon as it is presented. 4. The rat is presented alone. Albert immediately starts crying and quickly crawls away. !! This experiment demonstrates that a fear response can be conditioned to a neutral stimulus. It is highly likely that a louder noise would have have meant fewer joint stimulations were required. !!! Transferring a conditioned response to other stimuli! Five days later Albert was brought in for further testing. A preliminary test where Albert was presented with the rat showed that the conditioned fear response was still present.! ! 1. Albert was first presented with a rabbit. He immediately turned away from the animal and then began to cry. When the rabbit was placed in contact with him he crawled away from it. ! 2. He was then presented with a dog, he stared at it and shrank back a little. When the dog came closer, Albert turned his head away and began to cry. ! 3. His reaction was the same when a fur coat was presented to him. ! 4. When he was presented with cotton wool, he initially kicked it away but after time began to play with it, but made sure only to hold the paper packaging of the wool, and avoided touching the wool itself. ! 5. Albert was presented with the rat and withdrew his whole body but kept his eyes on the rat and did not cry. His hand was then placed on the rat and the rod was struck resulting in a violent reaction. ! 6. The rabbit is presented alone. Albert leans away from it and begins to whimper. !! It is then decided to change the setting to see if it would have any effect on the conditioned response. Albert was taken to a lecture hall. !! 7. The rat was presented alone. There was no sudden fear reaction although he did hold his hands away from the animal. ! 8. The rabbit is presented alone. Albert turned away from the animal.! 9. The dog is presented alone. Albert turned away and cried until the dog left. ! 10. The rat is presented alone, there was a slight negative reaction.! 11. Joint stimulation with rat and sound. Albert jumped violently. ! 12. The rat is presented alone. No initial reaction, but when the rat was placed nearer he began to whimper and draw back. ! 13. The rabbit is presented alone. Albert whimpered and fell backwards.! 14. The dog was presented alone. There was not much of a reaction until the dog barked, whereupon Albert began wailing and continued until the dog was removed. ! ! This experiment demonstrates that emotional transfers can occur.!!! The effect of time on conditioned emotional responses! No further emotional experimentation was conducted for a month. !! 1. The fur coat was presented alone. He withdrew his body and when the coat was placed in contact with him he began to cry. ! 2. The rat was presented alone. Albert stared at it and stayed still as it crawled towards him. When the rat touched his hand, Albert withdrew it immediately and leaned away. When the rat was placed on him he withdrew his body and covered his eyes with his hands. ! 3. The rabbit was presented alone. Albert pushed the rabbit away with his feet whilst withdrawing his body. When the rabbit moved towards him he began wailing. When his hand was placed on the rabbit’s back, he withdrew it immediately and covered his face with both hands.! 4. The dog was presented alone. Albert began to cry but did not fall over backwards as he had done when he dog was last presented. !! This experiment demonstrates that emotional responses brought about by conditioning and transferring persist for at least a month, although the there is a reduction in the intensity of the reaction. It is believed that they persist and modify personality throughout life. !!!