Ethical considerations SAQ

Little Albert study

Method

The little Albert experiment was a controlled study that showed evidence of behavior
psychology in humans. The case study shows visual stimuli generalization. John B. Watson
and his graduate student, Rosalie Rayner, performed out experiment.

Watson and Rayner wanted to condition a phobia and a child who was emotionally stable. for
this experiment, they chose a 9-month-old infant named Albert from a local hospital. Watson
used the same procedure that Pavlov had used in his dog experiments. Albert was given a
battery of baseline emotional tests before the experiment. the infant was exposed to white ret,
a rabbit, a dog, a monkey, masks (words end without hair), cotton, wool, started burning
newspapers, another sensation for the first time. during the standard tests, Albert began to
show No Fear open if these items.

Albert was put on a mattress on a table in the middle of a room for the actual experiment
when he was eleven months old. Albert was given a white laboratory rat to play with. when
the baby touched the rat, Watson in Rainer made a loud noise behind albert's back by
hammering hanging steel bar with a hammer. Albert cried and screamed in response to the
sound. Albert was given with only the red after repeated such pairing of the pairings. Albert
felt really scared at watching the rat, screaming, and trying to crawl away.

The white red was apparently linked with the sound by the infinite. the rat, which begun as a
visual stimulus, had evolved into conditioned stimulus, evoking an intense response
(resulting in the ability) identical to the discomfort (unconditioned reactions) triggered by the
noise (unconditioned stimulus). little albert's sensitivity to the white rat seemed to apply in
cognitive testing. he started worrying when he saw more furry stuff, including a rabbit, a
hairy dog, a sealskin cloak, and even a Santa Claus mask with white cotton balls in the beard.
this reflex, however, did not apply to old people with hair.

But today's standards. Watson's experiment had several flaws. for example, it just had one
subject and no control subjects. Also, considering the observed danger to the participant. such
an experiment might be difficult to carry out in regards with today’ life guidelines.
 Ethical considerations SAQ
Little Albert study

Ethics

The nature of the research itself would be considered unethical by today's ethical standards,
as it did not protect Albert from psychological injury, as its aim was to generate a feeling of
discomfort. according to reports, little Albert was used in as a subject in the study without his
mother's permission. Also, Albert was removed from the hospital by his mother, which meant
that there was no removal of the study’s negative effects, and Albert psychological well-
being following his experience was never determined.

Occur according to the principle of informed consent, psychologists must obtain the consent
of the individual who will be the subject of psychological research. in such concept and not
be obtained from the subject, the person is allowed to act on his or her behalf must provide
informed consent.

one of the other ethical issues with little Albert was that no such consent was obtained from
albert's mother.

All participants, including youngsters, the old, and the handicapped, black dad blocks to
make educated judgments. as a result, he should not include them as a participant.
Furthermore, volunteers should be provided with accurate information about the
investigation. this would allow people to make an educated decision about whether to or not
join. little Albert was a newborn, and his mother's permission was required before he could
participate. Unfortunately, Watson and Rainer both refused to accept such permission.

Nevertheless, no, the experiment wasn’t ethical concerns in the little Albert experiment.
Watson, for example, harmed Albert by trying to instill in him a fear of white rats. and such
fear that does not exist prior to the experiment. besides this, Watson violated the principle of
a free consent by not granting participants the right to withdraw.

Even though the study helped in understanding how phobias are acquired in humans it also
helped in understanding the development of treatments for such phobias.