Developmental psychology.pdf

466 Integration of Behavior
Would this fear be generalized to similar objects? A white rabbit, cotton, a
furry dog, and even a bearded mask, all previously neutral stimuli, were introduced
one at a time, and all evoked the fear response to some extent. Thus the investigators
decided that an irrational fear could be acquired directly through conditioning or indirectly
through stimulus generalization (Watson & Rayner, 1920).
Tested 13 months later, Little Albert's fear was less intense but still present,
and the researchers were about to undertake removal of this conditioned emotional
reaction. Unfortunately, Little Albert's family then moved from the vicinity, and we
know nothing more about him. The researchers have been criticized for this experiment,
but it must be remembered that they were denied the opportunity to complete
the therapy, for which they had made careful plans. A favorable outcome probably
would have occurred, for the "reconditioning" techniques they proposed are widely
accepted today.
There are certain obvious limitations with this demonstration, among which
is the inclusion of only one subject rather than several. Also, there are inconsistencies
among the several reports of this case. And most significant, ethical problems preclude
its repetition. Collectively these criticisms raise some questions about the status of this
well-known demonstration (Samelson, 1980, 1981).
This research has been widely disseminated as a basic model for human conditioning,
nevertheless. Based on the several accounts of this work, together with photographs
taken from a film showing Little Albert in the experimental context, there is
no doubt that this research took place. It presents a laboratory view of the origins of
a phobic-type response, indicating the way in which fear reactions are regarded in
contemporary behavior modification.
Classical Conditioning Methods
Sometime after the case of Little Albert, a student of the investigators discovered a
three-year-old boy who seemed to be "Albert grown a bit older." The boy was afraid
of small furry animals and also a fur coat, cotton, and feathers. Here was a chance to
test the proposed removal procedure. The experimenter had no way of knowing how
this reaction originated, but origins are not a critical issue in conditioning therapies.
Instead, she began to remove the fear by using conditioning procedures.
Process of Counterconditionmg Whenever the boy was seated in his high chair,
a rabbit was brought to a distant point in the room, immediately followed by something
very pleasant, such as food or his friends. Gradually, as the rabbit was regularly paired
with these favorable circumstances, and brought closer and closer to the boy, the fear
was replaced by a positive emotional response. Eventually the boy enjoyed having the
animal in his lap and said, "I like the rabbit" (Jones, 1924, 1974).
The fear was removed by the classical conditioning procedure, a process called
counterconditioning when used in therapy. The stimulus that evokes the fear is paired
with another stimulus that evokes a favorable reaction, but the therapist must proceed
carefully. If the food is only mildly positive and the rabbit induces an intensely negative
reaction, then through backward higher-order conditioning we might have a fearful
boy with an eating problem. He would learn to fear the food rather than love the animal.
For this reason, counterconditioning must be a gradual process; the stimulus that
evokes the fear must be introduced very carefully, step by step.
Systematic Desensitization Since Little Albert's day, behavior therapists have
developed additional techniques for use with counterconditioning. One of these is called
covert conditioning, meaning that the negative stimulus is not actually present but just
imagined by the fearful individual.
Suppose a person is extremely afraid of taking a college examination. The
final exam usually cannot be brought into the therapist's office, and it would be in-