In the case of Little Albert, the unconditioned stimulus was the loud noise that was paired with the presentation of the white rat. The loud noise naturally elicited a fear response in Albert, even without any prior association with the rat. By repeatedly pairing the white rat with the loud noise, Watson and Rayner were able to condition Albert to fear the rat, even in the absence of the loud noise. This demonstrates the power of classical conditioning, in which a neutral stimulus (the white rat) can become associated with an unconditioned stimulus (the loud noise) to elicit a conditioned response (fear).
Phobic Conditioning
Phobic conditioning is a type of classical conditioning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus, leading the neutral stimulus to elicit a conditioned fear response.
Little Albert
One of the most famous examples of phobic conditioning is the case of Little Albert. In this experiment, conducted by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner in 1920, an 11-month-old boy named Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat.
Before conditioning, Albert showed no fear of the rat. However, the researchers repeatedly paired the rat with a loud noise (the unconditioned stimulus), which caused Albert to cry (the unconditioned response).
- Unconditioned Stimulus: Loud noise
- Unconditioned Response: Crying
- Neutral Stimulus: White rat
- Conditioned Stimulus: White rat
- Conditioned Response: Fear
After several pairings, Albert began to show fear of the rat even when it was presented alone, without the loud noise. This demonstrated that the rat had become a conditioned stimulus, and Albert’s fear of it was a conditioned response.
| Stimulus | Response |
|---|---|
| Loud noise (unconditioned stimulus) | Crying (unconditioned response) |
| White rat (neutral stimulus) | No fear (no response) |
| White rat (conditioned stimulus) | Fear (conditioned response) |
**Classical Conditioning Experiments**
The unconditioned stimulus in the case of Little Albert was the loud noise that was paired with the presentation of the white rat. This caused Little Albert to develop a conditioned fear response to the rat.
**What is Unconditioned Stimulus**
Before we look at the case of Little Albert, let’s first understand what an unconditioned stimulus is. An unconditioned stimulus is a naturally occurring stimulus that triggers an unconditioned response. The unconditioned response is an automatic, unlearned reaction.
For example, the unconditioned stimulus of food triggers the unconditioned response of salivation. This is a natural reflex that helps us to digest food.
**Little Albert**
Little Albert was an infant who was the subject of a famous classical conditioning experiment conducted by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner in 1920. In this experiment, Little Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat.
The researchers began by presenting Little Albert with the rat while he was playing with other toys. At first, Little Albert showed no fear of the rat. However, after several pairings of the rat with a loud noise, Little Albert began to cry and show signs of fear whenever he saw the rat.
The loud noise was the unconditioned stimulus in this experiment. It was a naturally occurring stimulus that triggered an unconditioned response of fear in Little Albert.
**Table of Classical Conditioning Terminology**
| Term | Definition | ||||||||||||||||||
| Unconditioned stimulus | A naturally occurring stimulus that triggers an unconditioned response. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Unconditioned response | An automatic, unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Conditioned stimulus | A neutral stimulus that becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus and triggers a conditioned response. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Conditioned response | A learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus. |
| Original CS | Similar CS | Conditioned Response |
|---|---|---|
| White rat | Black rat | Fear |
| White rat | Rabbit | Fear |
| White rat | Loud noise | Fear |
Unconditioned Stimulus in the Case of Little Albert
In the famous experiment by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner, a young boy named Albert was exposed to a series of paired stimuli. The goal of the experiment was to determine whether a neutral stimulus (in this case, a white rat) could become associated with an unconditioned stimulus (a loud noise) and elicit a previously unconditioned response (fear).
The following table summarizes the experiment’s key elements:
| Stimulus | Response |
|---|---|
| White rat (unconditioned stimulus) | Fear (unconditioned response) |
| Loud noise (neutral stimulus) | No fear (no response) |
After several pairings of the white rat and the loud noise, Albert began to exhibit fear in response to the rat alone. This indicated that the rat had become a conditioned stimulus, and the fear was now a conditioned response. The loud noise, which had originally been a neutral stimulus, had become an unconditioned stimulus through its association with the fear-inducing white rat.
White Rat as Stimulus
- Unconditioned stimulus
- Elicits unconditioned fear response
- Paired with loud noise (neutral stimulus)
- Becomes conditioned stimulus after pairing
And that’s the scoop on Little Albert and the unconditioned stimulus, my friend! Thanks for sticking around and reading all about it. If you’ve got any questions or you’re just feeling curious, don’t be a stranger. Drop by again soon and let’s explore some more mind-bending stuff together. Cheers!