Columbia College Classical Conditioning Questions

 

 

Read the Watson & Rayner (2000) article  Download Watson & Rayner (2000) article.

Then create a Word document with an APA style title page and answer the following questions about the article. You will also need an APA style reference page which includes the article itself and the dictionary source for the words you look up.

1. Do you agree that our emotional “range [is] increased by means of conditioned reflex factors” (p. 313)? Support your answer.
2. Read the entire article then discuss whether you think Albert’s tendency towards stability may have been affected by this series of studies. Support your answer.
3. Was the fear of a white rat completely conditioned? Do you see evidence of extinction in later trials?  What does this occurrence mean for phobias?
4. Do you believe that Little Albert’s experience would have been worse if he was a “less stable” baby? Watson and Rayner also stated, “One may possibly have to believe that such persistence of early conditioned responses will be found only in person who are constitutionally inferior” (p. 317).  Support your answer.
5. Reactions to: “By trying to ‘recondition’ by showing objects calling out fear responses … and simultaneously stimulating the erogenous zones. We should try first the lips, then the nipples and as a final resort the sex organs” (p. 316).
6. What are the implications of this article?
7. For each class in which I require article questions, I ask that you identify words in the article that you are unfamiliar with. The goal is to help build your vocabulary which is helpful in life and, especially, for the Graduate Record Examination (should you decide to take it in the future). Please complete this portion even if you feel you know all of the words in the article. It is good practice. Also, be sure to provide a reference for where you found the information. Identify 5 words that you are unfamiliar with and provide a definition for each. Be sure to provide both in-text citations and a reference page entry for any sources used.

second paper and condition will work

You will complete four different experiments that utilize different learning strategies that will be discussed in this course.  For each experiment you are to identify a behavior that you would like changed.  The behavior can be your own or someone else’s in your environment (spouse, pet, parent).  After the behavior is identified, you will develop a plan to change that behavior using the specific learning principle for that experiment.  You will implement the training procedure with your individual.  The paper that will be turned in for credit will consist of a) identification of the target behavior, b) plan to change said behavior, c) how the plan was implemented in full detail, and d) the results of your attempts to retrain the behavior.  The type of learning principle per experiment is listed below: