Watson tested whether a baby, who had earlier endured the rat in his crib and even played with it is likely to develop different emotional reaction if the rat is accompanied by loud noise. The idea of causing fear of the baby was not cruel in itself, but scientifically disturbing. The experiment was based on the concept that newborn children have only three recognizable feelings: fear, conditioned by loud noises and lack of support (for example, when a baby passes arms and does not notice support), love, conditioned by caresses, and anger, when he was prevented from making movements. Simply fear was the easiest to condition and test of the three. The idea was to see if they could influence Albert to fear different stimuli. In the initial phases of experiment (when loud stimuli were not included), Albert reached out to each animal with cheerful curiosity. Albert could play with the animals without any fear. However, when the presence of animal was accompanied by a loud noise, Albert started adopting stormy negative reaction. Albert’s stormy negative reaction to the rabbit was evidence that the acquired fear was indeed transmitted to other animals. Albert was also anxious in the presence of a dog and was annoyed at the sight of a piece of cotton wool. Initially, Watson intended to complete his experiment, “removing” the fears acquired by the child, but eventually decided to abandon this part of the experiment due to lack of time. However, when he published the results of his research, he suggested that the best way to remove the conditioned reflex is to replace the traumatic metallic sound with positive irritation: a) physical stimulation “first lips, then nipples, and finally genitals”; b) sweets or food; c) creative activity. The revelation suggests that the formation of irrational fears, classically conditioned fears arise as a result of the association of unconditioned stimuli, even at birth (and probably before the moment of birth) causing a fear reaction, with some initially neutral stimuli. In the early days of the development of behaviorism, John Watson called some unconditionally scary stimuli.
Watson findings can be used to explain many issues experienced in the current society. It can be used to explain why some men are not risk takers. It can be also used to explain why some men fear to date beautiful ladies. Fear of being refused when contacting an official organization can spread to the situation of acquaintance with an attractive partner if they are similar in the expectation of being refused in these situations or wanting to look like a "real man." The best way of helping such person is to help him visualize the positive aspects rather than the unpleasant stimuli. Secondly, depressive symptoms can be used to explain low self-esteem among children raised in abusive families. Such children are more likely to develop irrational fears that hinder their self-esteem. In addition, the results from Watson’s experiment can be applied in management of phobias. Phobias can be addressed using the concept of behaviorism. The avoidance response to a phobic disorder encourages the patient to avoid situations that cause his fear offering the patient a chance to plan a number of pleasant activities. In addition, behavioral psychology can be applied in learning institutions. In some institutions, students from certain races are often blamed for poor performance. Even if they pass, some teachers will doubt their grades. In the end, such students will develop mindset that they are generally inferior than other students. Such students are likely to extent the same mentality to other spheres of life. This is how racism is reinforced covertly.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
