In Watson’s research with Little Albert, what was the CS?
a. A spanking
b. The Santa Claus mask
c. A loud sound
d. A white rat
The correct answer and explanation is :
The correct answer is d. A white rat.
In Watson and Rayner’s 1920 experiment with Little Albert, the primary goal was to demonstrate how emotional responses could be conditioned. Little Albert, a 9-month-old baby, was initially not afraid of a white rat. However, Watson and Rayner introduced a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) and paired it with an Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) to create an emotional response.
The white rat was initially neutral to Little Albert, meaning it did not evoke any fear. This makes it the neutral stimulus at the start of the experiment. The loud sound (a banging of a metal bar) was used as the Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS). The loud noise naturally elicited an Unconditioned Response (UCR) of fear and distress in Little Albert.
After several pairings of the white rat (CS) with the loud sound (UCS), Little Albert began to show fear whenever the white rat was presented, even without the loud sound. The rat became a Conditioned Stimulus (CS), and Little Albert’s response (fear) was now a Conditioned Response (CR).
This experiment is significant because it demonstrated classical conditioning in humans. It showed that emotional reactions, such as fear, could be conditioned to neutral stimuli. Watson’s research helped lay the foundation for behaviorism, a school of psychology that emphasizes observable behaviors over internal mental states.
The other options listed are incorrect:
- a. A spanking: No spanking was used in the experiment.
- b. The Santa Claus mask: While a Santa Claus mask was used in a subsequent part of the experiment to demonstrate stimulus generalization, it was not the CS in the original pairing with the rat.
- c. A loud sound: The loud sound was the UCS, not the CS.