Final answer:
In John Watson's experimentation, the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) was the white rat, and the Unconditioned Stimulus (US) was the loud noise. Subsequently, Little Albert's fear of the white rat and other similar furry objects exemplified stimulus generalization, a core concept in classical conditioning.
Step-by-step explanation:
In John Watson's study of little Albert, a baby was conditioned to fear white furry things after hearing a loud, unpleasant noise which was paired with the presentation of a white rat, a stimulus that Little Albert was not initially afraid of. Within the realm of classical conditioning, the white rat, originally a neutral stimulus, became the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) as it began to elicit a fear response after being associated with the loud noise. The loud noise, which naturally caused distress, served as the Unconditioned Stimulus (US) because it elicited an Unconditioned Response (UCR) – in this case, fear or distress – without any prior conditioning.
Through the study's process, the white rat became associated with the fear response due to the repeated pairing with the loud noise. Therefore, after conditioning, Little Albert displayed fear towards the white rat (a Conditioned Response, CR) solely because of that association, even without the presence of the noise. Additionally, the experiment led to stimulus generalization, as observed when Little Albert began to fear other white furry objects such as rabbits and a Santa Claus mask, which resembled the Conditioned Stimulus.