AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A white laboratory rat was placed near Albert and he was allowed to play with it. At this point, Watson and Rayner made a loud sound behind Albert’s back by striking a suspended steel bar with a hammer each time the baby touched the rat. Albert responded to the noise by crying and showing fear.

Detailed explanation-2: -Psychologist John Watson conducted the Little Albert experiment. Watson is known for his seminal research on behaviorism, or the idea that behavior occurs primarily in the context of conditioning. He was a professor of psychology at Johns Hopkins University, and much of his research revolved around animal behavior.

Detailed explanation-3: -In this experiment, Watson and Rayner conditioned Little Albert into fearing a rat by producing a loud noise whenever he sees the rat, causing Little Albert to cry.

Detailed explanation-4: -Albert died in 2007, without ever knowing of his early life in a hospital residence, or of his apparent part in psychology’s history.

Detailed explanation-5: -Watson was able to carry out the process of classical conditioning on Little Albert, since he was able to take a neutral stimulus (white rat) and pair it with the unconditioned stimulus (loud noise) to create the conditioned stimulus (white rat) and conditioned response (fear).