Little+Albert+case

A controversial study was carried out on a little infant called Albert by John Watson. Albert was exposed to different stimuli.There were four of them: **a white rat**, **a rabbit**, **a monkey** and a various **masks** (like Santa Clause mask). Watson noticed that the baby did not fear of any of these stimuli. However, there was one thing that always made the baby cry, namely a sound of a hammer struck against a steel bar. Some months later Albert was presented with a white rat and at the same time he could hear the sound of a hammer. He burst into tears and started associating the rat with an unpleasant experience. This procedure lasted for seven weeks and it was done seven times during that time. What is more, after being conditioned Albert was about to cry just by seeing a rat. A conclusion was made that classical conditioning could be used to create a //**phobia**// which is an irrational fear of something that is out of our control. Watson's research is an example of **classical conditioning**.

media type="youtube" key="lhW2z-oeW7g?rel=0" height="360" width="480" align="center"

source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhW2z-oeW7g

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