Little Albert Experiment
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
Watson created a loud noise when presenting a white rat, causing the infant Albert, who originally liked the rat, to develop fear. Moreover, this fear generalized to rabbits, dogs, and white fur coats.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Trauma mechanism: explains why 'once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of a rope for ten years.' Many inexplicable phobias originate from a chance association event in childhood.
Anchor fast decisions
In 1920, John Watson and Rosalie Rayner conducted a conditioning experiment on an infant named 'Little Albert': pairing a white rat with a loud noise to make the infant fear the rat and even furry objects, demonstrating that emotions can be learned through classical conditioning.
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E8%89%BE%E4%BC%AF%E7%89%B9%E5%AE%9E%E9%AA%8Cverified
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