Little Albert Experiment

Little

Little Albert’s Experiment

- Activity -

• Think of a teacher that’s most unforgettable to you in your elementary or high school…

• Are there things that when you encounter at present make you “go back to the past” and recall this teacher? What are these things?

Proponent:

John B. Watson (1878 –1958)• American psychologist who

established the Psychological School of Behaviorism.

• Influenced by Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory.

• Famous research – related to children’s emotion (Emotion learning: Stimulus Generalization)

Proponent:

Rosalie Rayner • Watson’s graduate student-assistant• Had an affair with Watson but

eventually became his wife after Watson got divorced.

The Experiment

• Watson and Rayner took a 9mos. old child.

• Paid the mother of the child $1.00• Gave the child a Pseudo name, Albert• Showed Albert neutral stimulus such

as a white rat, a puppy, santa mask, a rabbit and a fur coat

The Experiment

The Experiment

• Unfortunately after the said experiment they returned the child without undoing what they have done to Little Albert

• Little Albert died after 6 years with all the fears he has without exactly knowing why

Theory of Behaviorism

• focuses on the study of observable and measurable behaviour.

• emphasizes that behaviour is mostly learned through conditioning and reinforcement (reward and punishment).

• does not give much attention to the mind and the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind

Classical Conditioning

• Deals with the reflexes or responses that are evoked from a specific stimulus.

• People can be trained to perform a certain task or response by providing some sort of trigger, which may be a sound, picture, phrase, etc.

Implications in Teaching and Learning

• All types of behaviour can be learned through conditioning process. Positive behaviour can be taught by using suitable stimulus.

• Pupils ought to relate the relationship between all responses systematically in order to master the skill of solving problems.

Implications in Teaching and Learning

• More exercises should be carried out after learning in order to strengthen what has been learned in the memory

• Teacher should use suitable stimulus during the teaching process to motivate pupils in learning, and at the same time, avoid using stimulus which will produce negative effect.

The Pros and Cons of Behaviorism

Pros: • Behaviorism is based on observable

behaviors, making it easier to conduct and collect data and research.

• Can be applicable/helpful for therapy of children with behavioral disorders

The Pros and Cons of Behaviorism

Cons: • Does not account for other ways of

learning that do not involve reinforcement

• People can change their behavior when presented with new information, even if they have previously established a different behavior through reinforcement.