Question

In Watson and Rayner’s experiments, Little Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat, and then he began to be afraid of other furry white objects. This demonstrates ________.

higher order conditioning
acquisition
stimulus discrimination
stimulus generalization

Answer 1

In Watson and Rayner's experiments, Little Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat, and then he began to be afraid of other furry white objects. This demonstrates stimulus generalization.

Step-by-step explanation:

Stimulus generalization is a concept within the conditioning theory, that was first identified in Watson and Rayner's experiments, they found that when a response to a certain stimulus has been reinforced, the response may begin to appear with other stimulus that are similar to the original. In Watson and Rayner's experiment, after Little Albert was conditioned to fear the rat, he began to respond in the same way to other furry white objects.

This principle has helped psychologists understand certain disorders like social anxiety disorder.