Who Cares

3 Commentsby   |  10.25.10  |  The Schools of Psychology (Part IV)

I think that it is okay to test fears in children. The experiment with little Albert is a good model for how fears come about in any situation and we wouldn't necessarily criticize the other circumstances that are the same. Fears are all learned anyways and you can overcome a fear. I was able to overcome a lot of my fears as I got older because I realized that a lot of them were unreasonable. I was afraid of bugs, but I didn't have a reason to be afraid of them. I was afraid because I heard someone else scream when they saw a bug. I assumed that they were fearful for a reason, so I became scared. When other people scream it is like making a loud noise behind a child. We then learn to be afraid of the situation because of the things we learn to associate with it. I was always more fearful if I heard others scream then when I am alone. 

Comment

3 Comments

  1. Ian Robertson
    2:01 pm, 10.25.10

    Another thing to consider will Little Albert, is that they were able to effectively reverse his fear. Not to mention the child had a lot of fears to begin with. Watson and Cover really didn’t do anything to harm Albert, and what they did induce they reversed and a lot of the fears he had before the experiment.

  2. Morgan Myer
    2:53 pm, 10.25.10

    The experiment of Little Albert really just does not seem significant at all to me. The way they did it is in question along with a lot of other variables.I also think that Little Albert was more upset than fearful. When I hear something loud I get more angry than scared. I think it is hard to say that Little Albert is for sure “afraid”. So maybe it was not even measuring fear at all.

  3. Austin Fontaine
    3:18 pm, 10.25.10

    I do nto believe that there is any inherent problem with tests such as the one with Littel Albert iether, but that is under certain conditions, such as any resulting psychological issues must be resolved or compensated for by the institution conducting the experiment. For example, any induced phobias must be reversed. However, many would argue that all the mental capacities of a child being devoted to learning and unlearning a phobia would be much better spent exploring and developing other areas, and while they do have a point, it mus be asked that how much better off would a child be who’s parents woudl volunteer them for such a study in the first place. After all, it is the primary care giver who will be raising the child and who would have to authorize their participation in such a study.

Add a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.