The reading is about an experiment conducted on a little child to explore certain disagreements amongst psychologists regarding emotional reactions. The reading discusses two major concepts of human nature as perceived by Sigmund Freud and John Watson. According to Freud, thoughts, behavior, and emotions originate from the internal instinctual and biological processes. However, Watson through his experiment on little Albert seeks to disapprove that notion. He argues that all human behavior including emotional reactions originates from conditional stimuli and learning. The reading, therefore, leaves the big question of the source of emotional reactions which various human psychologists seem not to agree.
Watson’s experiment theorizes that classical conditioning contributes to our emotional reactions. The researchers conditioned fear response on little Albert when exposed to stimuli which the participant had not feared earlier. His experiment sought to test two things. First, to reveal the human nature concept by Freud that people’s behavior stems from unconscious processes was wrong. Secondly, the researchers aimed at asserting that all human behavior originates from conditioning and learning. However, despite the experiment contravening ethical considerations and having methodological flaws, it managed to convince a section of psychologists that emotional reactions could be conditioned through stimulus-response techniques.
Reaction
The experiment on little Albert and his emotional reaction has created sharp divisions amongst psychologists. While others disagree even with the methodology and ethical issues surrounding the experiment, a section of psychologists, whether Freudians or not, should agree to the fact that the experiment has continued to be applied in wider aspects of human psychology. The work by Watson and Rayner continue to raise important aspects of human psychology, especially regarding classical conditioning.
The experiment on Albert shows how classical conditioning can be applied to trigger an emotional reaction. The white rat and the loud noises were the conditioned and unconditioned environmental stimulus respectively. Albert’s fear became the response. The reading also shows the concept of the perceptual process by human brain where three stages of perception, recognition, and action take center stage. For example, Albert was aware of the objects and the loud noise. He recognized them through his reactions (crying or not), categorized sound differently from visualization of the objects and later show action through fear. Furthermore, the experiment demonstrated generalization of stimulus whereby after being conditioned to fear the white cat, Albert went ahead to fear a series of objects.
The question of Albert’s later experiences remains one of the major mysteries in psychology since the researchers were unable to remove the conditions set on the child. While others think he would grow into a person with strange phobias of similar objects, others think the conditions would slowly fade away. The fate of little Albert raises important questions regarding the sustainability of classical conditioning which needs to be studied.
The application of the experiment is key to human psychology since it opens up the gaps that current psychologists can experiment using the modern conditions. Even though the little Albert experiment would not suffice today due to its ethical flaws, psychologists need to keenly have a look into the origin of emotional reactions. The reading is worth for a psychology student since it offers detailed issues around the classical conditioning and the functioning of the human brain as far as an emotional reaction is concerned. The experiment is a reflection of how our brains processes and distinguishes environmental stimuli.
