Experimento Conductista: Watson y el pequeño Albert (en español)

John B. Watson's Influence on Psychology

Overview of Watson's Theories

• John B. Watson, an American psychologist influenced by Pavlov, emphasized that only observable learned behaviors are scientifically viable for study in psychology.

• He rejected inherited traits and instincts as behavioral causes, advocating instead for the unlimited power of conditioning and environmental control to shape behavior in both animals and humans.

Conditioning Experiments

• Watson conducted experiments using infants, demonstrating that strong emotions could be learned through conditioning and generalized to similar situations without needing original conditioning repetition.

• In a notable experiment with an 8-month-old baby named Albert, Watson conditioned him to fear a previously liked white rat by pairing its appearance with a loud noise that startled him.

Results of the Experiment

• After repeated pairings, Albert began to cry at the mere sight of the rat; this exemplified classical conditioning. His avoidance behavior was rewarded when he crawled away from the rat towards safety, illustrating instrumental conditioning.

• The fear response generalized beyond the rat to other stimuli like rabbits and dogs, indicating that infants who initially had no fears developed anxieties toward many harmless objects.

Ethical Considerations