Final answer:
Watson's Little Albert experiment showed that emotions could be conditioned through classical conditioning, with the loud noise as the Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) and the white rat as the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) leading to a Conditioned Response (CR) of fear, which then generalized to other similar stimuli.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the famous experiment conducted by John B. Watson known as "Little Albert," Watson demonstrated that emotions could be conditioned. In the Little Albert experiment, a child was exposed to and conditioned to fear certain stimuli, like a white rat. Initially, Little Albert was not afraid of the rat, but when Watson started to make a loud sound by striking a hammer against a metal bar every time Little Albert touched the rat, he became frightened. This fear was a reflexive fear response to sudden loud noises, which could be seen as the Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS). The white rat, which was previously neutral, became the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) after being paired with the loud noise. Thus, the white rat alone eventually triggered the Conditioned Response (CR) of fear without any noise being present. Furthermore, this response generalized to other similar stimuli, which is evidence of stimulus generalization, not higher order conditioning, acquisition, or stimulus discrimination. The Little Albert experiment is a famous illustration of classical conditioning in human emotions.