Conducted by psychologist John Watson and Rosalie Rayner in 1920. It aimed to investigate classical conditioning in humans by conditioning a young child, “Little Albert,” to fear a previously neutral stimulus (a white rat) by pairing it with a loud noise. The study was controversial due to the lack of consent from the child’s parents and the emotional distress caused to the child, who was left with a long-lasting phobia of furry objects.
An example of classical conditioning