Table of ContentsIntroductionEvaluationConclusionIntroductionWatson and Rayner (1920) studied classical conditioning, a behaviorist theory of learning. The researchers conditioned fear in little Albert and showed that fear can be learned. This research was groundbreaking because it demonstrated how phobias can be acquired at a young age. Although Albert suffered psychological harm, Jones (1924) found that fear could be unconditioned and so Watson and Rayner's (1920) theory was used to develop systematic desensitization (Wolpe, 1958). In this essay, I will describe Watson and Rayner (1920) and discuss potential critiques and applications of their research. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Watson and Rayner (1920) aimed to investigate whether fear can be conditioned, whether this fear can be generalized, and whether time has an effect on responses. They also aimed to discover how conditioning could be removed. To investigate this point, Watson and Rayner (1920) used little Albert, a healthy, emotionless child at the hospital where the study was conducted. Little Albert was introduced to a white rat, a rabbit and other similar stimuli, but none of them provoked a fear response. A hammer hit a steel bar when the rat was introduced, causing Albert to cry. Over many trials, Albert began to show fear towards the rat without any loud noises. Here, the unconditioned stimulus (the loud noise) was combined with a neutral stimulus (the rat) to produce the conditioned response (fear). The researchers therefore conditioned Albert to be afraid of the rat and they also found that the fear generalized to other objects. But Albert only showed his fear towards similar objects, white and fluffy, like a Santa Claus mask, and therefore discriminated against. The researchers also found that the same fear reactions were still present after a while, but they were weaker. EvaluationWatson and Rayner (1920) did not test their fourth research objective, whether conditioning could be removed because little Albert left the hospital with his mother. But they had a theory that fear could be removed by combining the conditioned stimulus with a pleasant unconditioned stimulus during reconditioning. To test this theory, Jones (1924) recruited little Peter who was afraid of rabbits. The rabbit was presented at a great distance from Pierre who was given a biscuit then the distance was gradually reduced (successive approach of conditioned stimuli). Peter learned not to be afraid of the rabbit, which supports Watson and Rayner's (1920) theory because it suggests that reconditioning works. However, Peter also observed non-fearful children interacting with rabbits, which is a confounding variable because it could mean that the fear response was suppressed due to imitation and not classical conditioning. One of the strengths of reconditioning is that it has been used to develop systematic desensitization (Wolpe, 1958); an effective therapy for phobias. This is where the client first learns relaxation techniques and then creates a hierarchy of fears, for example. Cartoon spider, an image of a spider, touching a spider. The client works through the hierarchy, relaxing at each stage; in this way, the client is reconditioned to associate the feared stimulus with relaxation, thereby reducing fear..