This was an experiment conducted by behaviorist John B. Watson and graduate student Rosalie Rayner in 1920 which demonstrated classical conditioning in humans by teaching a baby named Albert to fear a white rat.
Imagine you loved fluffy white teddy bears but then every time you played with one, someone made a loud scary noise behind you. Eventually, just seeing the fluffy white teddy bear would make you scared - this is what happened to Little Albert but with a white rat instead of a teddy bear.
Behaviorism: A theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning.
Phobia: An extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something. In case of Little Albert, he developed phobia for white rats and similar objects due to conditioning.
Desensitization: The process of reducing sensitivity or reaction to a stimulus over time. It's often used as therapy for phobias where patient is gradually exposed to feared object until fear response decreases.
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