Little Albert free essay sample

To support the theory that environment is more powerful than genetics, Watson designed an experiment on an infant commonly known as the Little Albert experiment. This experiment focused on Ivan Pavlov’s process of classical conditioning. Watson believed and wanted to prove that all human psychology can be explained by this process (McLeod, 2008). The other studies that I will be comparing the Little Albert experiment to will be â€Å"Elevated fear conditioning to socially relevant unconditioned stimuli in Social Anxiety Disorder† (Lissek, Levson, Biggs, et all, 2008) and the study of Pavlov’s dogs (Pavlov, 1928). These studies will enable me to make a justified evaluation of the Little Albert study by making comparisons to these two other studies. The Little Albert experiment was conducted by John Watson and Rosalie Rayner in 1920. They chose nine month old Baby Albert for the study because Albert had been reared almost from birth in Harriet Lane home for Invalid Children where his mother was a wet nurse. Albert was deemed extremely stable and well developed which determined his suitability for the experiment (McLeod, 2007). The focus of their study was to continue on from Pavlov’s experiment involving the classical conditioning of dogs, and determine whether this empirical evidence was also evident in humans (Watson, 1924). More specifically, they were focusing on conditioned emotional responses. In determining these aspects they conducted a series of different tests involving a variation of stimulus. Before the experiment commenced, they gave Albert a sequence of baseline tests to determine his initial fear responses to stimuli. They presented him with burning paper, a monkey, a dog, cotton wool, a fur coat (seal), various masks and a white rat. During the baseline, Albert showed no initial fear to these items. Throughout the study these items (fluffy white objects) served as the independent variables. The dependant variable was whether or not Albert cried or showed distress. During the study Albert was positioned on a mattress on a table. Albert was presented with a white rat and just as he reached out to touch it, a metal bar was struck with a hammer behind him. Albert jumped and fell forward, burring his head into the mattress, but did not cry. After these two stimuli were paired on several occasions, Albert was presented with only the white rat. As the rat appeared in front of him he became distressed and turned away, puckered his lips, began to cry and crawled away (Watson, 1924). From this, it became obvious that Albert’s fear had been conditioned. Albert had associated the white rat with a loud noise producing fear, thus having conditioned fear of the white rat. The experiment showed that Little Albert generalized his response from furry animals to anything furry. Albert showed the same reactions as the initial experiment when Watson presented him with a furry dog, seal-skin coat and even a Santa-Claus mask (Watson, 1924). The way in which Albert’s responses were measured was through the amount of distress to the stimuli he presented. The Little Albert study is a highly popular study especially across the field of Psychology. Although the study has provided valuable knowledge and understanding of learned behaviours and the development of phobias, it’s procedures considering ethics are questionable. The fact that Albert was only nine months old deems this study unethical. Albert’s mother was obviously desperate for money to support her son, so the bribe of money probably out-weighted the possible harm caused to her son. Albert’s mother probably wasn’t entirely aware of the potential risks involved. Albert’s fear was supposed to be extinguished at the end of the experiment, but he moved away. Other ethical codes that have been violated in this study are that of the distress that it caused. Little Albert was never desensitized from the conditioning undergone meaning that because he had a conditioned fear of white furry objects, he would forever be terrified of white furry objects (Watson, 1924). In today’s code of ethics, the welfare of the participant/s is the most important factor and under no circumstances should this protection be hindered, unless the participant has given consent to be put under this distress. It is also now deemed unethical to purposely cause distress to a participant in laboratory circumstances (Weiten, 2008). These unethical procedures could have been corrected quite simply. In the study of fear conditioning in people with social anxiety disorder, they conducted what called an extinction process where the participants were desensitized from any fear conditioning that took part throughout the experiment (Lissek, Levson, Biggs, et al, 2008). This experiment is clearly ethical as it was only conducted in 2008 and would have had to have been passed by the ethics board in order to be conducted. The Little Albert study is a valid study; however it was not measured effectively. The way in which Little Albert’s fear was measured was just whether or not he cried or showed distress. The way in which they measured this could have been improved in order to get more valid and reliable results. In this case, the studies operational definition was not valid. The Little Albert study could have used apparatus in order to get more valid results. For example, they could have measured Albert’s fear by assessing his skin conductivity. This would have measured Albert’s distress through measuring the arousals in his skin i. e. weat. They also could have used the blink-startle response measurement as used in â€Å"Elevated fear conditioning to socially relevant unconditioned stimuli in Social Anxiety Disorder† (Lissek, Levson, Biggs, et al, 2008). This method measures how much the participant blinks when presented with a stimuli. If the participant is startled (scared) by something, they will blink a lot more than if they are not startled. The re liability of the Little Albert study is not strong. If the same study was conducted today, the same results would not be found. Little Albert’s responses to the stimuli that he was presented with could have been a result of his general fear of animals, not that he conditioned a fear of white fluffy objects. Most people would agree with me when I say that if you were a nine month old baby and an animal was jumping up at your face, you would be scared and would become distressed. Being a nine month old baby, Albert also could have just been tired, bored, and hungry or just missed his Mother. None of these factors were accounted for during the trials. If the same study was conducted today, it would become extremely obvious that times have changed and so too should the design of the study. The reliability of the experiment is hindered by the fact that the method of measurement is simply observation and there is no concrete evidence being analysed. For example if they were to measure brain activity or use the blink-startle reaction measurement, these results would be a lot more concrete and therefore the study would be classed a lot more reliable. In comparison, the 1928 study of Pavlov’s dogs (Pavlov, 1928) is a lot more reliable even though it is only a few years newer than the Little Albert study. If Pavlov’s experiment was replicated today, very similar if not the same results would be found. The fact that Pavlov used concrete methods of measuring his data deemed his study a lot more reliable. If he was to measure the amount that the dogs salivate by just observing them, it would not be as valid. To conclude, through the evaluation of the Little Albert study and comparison to â€Å"â€Å"Elevated fear conditioning to socially relevant unconditioned stimuli in Social Anxiety Disorder† (Lissek, Levson, Biggs, et al, 2008) and Pavlov’s dogs (Pavlov, 1928) it has come to my attention that the Little Albert study does not comply to today’s code of ethics, the reliability is not strong and could be improved on however it is a valid study, but the operational definition could be improved. I feel that the contributions to knowledge of conditioned fear are valuable to society and has proved useful in various situations and other studies. Future studies on this topic would prove extremely valuable to society and our understanding on fear conditioning. References McLeod, S. A. (2007). Simply Psychology; Nature Nurture in Psychology. Retrieved 3 April 2012

The Human Eye In Space By Lambert Parker (edited) Essays

The human eye in space by Lambert Parker (edited) Human visual hardware is a result of a billion years of evolution within the earths atmosphere where light is scattered by molecules of air, moisture, particular matter etc. However as we ascend into our atmosphere with decrease density, light distribution is changed resulting in our visual hardware receiving visual data in different format. Some Aspects to Consider: 1. Visual acuity is the degree to which the details and contours of objects are perceived. Visual acuity is usually defined in terms of minimum separable.Large variety of factors influence this complex phenomenon which includes : # Optical factors- state of the image forming mechanisms of the eye. # Retinal factors such as the state of the cones. # Stimulus factors such as illumination, brightness of the stimulus, contrast between the stimulus and background, length of time exposed to the stimulus. * Minimum separable: shortest distance by which two lines can be separated and still be perceived as two lines. "During the day, the earth has a predominantly bluish cast..... I could detect individual houses and streets in the low humidity and cloudless areas such as the Himalaya mountain area.... I saw a steam locomotive by seeing the smoke first..... I also saw the wake of a boat on a large river in the Burma-India area... and a bright orange light from the British oil refinery to the south of the city (Perth,Australia.)" The above observation was made by Gordon Cooper in Faith 7 [1963] and which generated much skepticism in the light of the thesis by Muckler and Narvan "Visual Surveillance and Reconnaissance from space vehicles" in which they determined that a visual angle of ten minutes was the operational minimum, and that the minimum resolvable object length [M.R.O.L] at an altitude of 113 miles would be 1730 ft. This limitation of acuity was revised the next year to 0.5 seconds of arc for an extended contrasting line and 15 seconds of arc for minimum separation of two points sharply contrasting with the background. Orbiting at 237 miles in the skylab it was possible to see the entire east coast [Canada to Florida Keys] and resolve details of a 500 feet long bridge based on inference. Of Interest is the fact that even though the mechanical eye [camera systems] can resolve objects greater than fifty times better than the human eye, without the human ability to infer, interpretation of the data is meaningless. Conclusion: Visual acuity in space exceeds that of earth norm when objects with linear extension such as roads, airfields, wake of ships etc. Stereoscopic vision: the perception of two images as one by means of fusing the impressions on both retinas. In space one has to deal with a poverty of reference points. For hardware evolved in a reference oriented paradigm, this possess a grave problem. Once out of the space craft and gazing outward, the eye can only fix on the stars [without even a twinkle] which for all practical purpose is at infinity ie. without stereoscopic vision "Empty field myopia" prevails. Empty Field Myopia is a condition in which the eyes, having nothing in the visual field upon which to focus, focus automatically at about 9 feet. An astronaut/cosmonaut experiencing empty field myopia focusing at 9 ft would be unable see objects at a range close as 100 ft. If another spacecraft, satellite, meteorite or L.E.M entered his field of vision, he would not be able to determine the size nor the distance. Solution: Man does not face any hostile environment in his birthday suit, the clothing industry and need for walk in closet say it all. In space we will wear our exoskeleton just as we wear winter jackets in winter and we will wear our helmets with visors to maintain our internal environment, filter out all those nasty rads etc. Since Empty Field Myopia is secondary to loss of reference points why not just build them into the visor itself giving the eye points of reference-- create a virtual reality This line of speculation leads to amazing concepts...... PERCEPTION OF COLORS. Studies done by the Russian cosmonauts on effects on perception of colors in space suggests a

Find Out Why the U of I Llc Essay Sample Is Your Best Choice

Find Out Why the U of I Llc Essay Sample Is Your Best ChoiceU of I lc essay sample is one of the favorite essay writing software. It is an outstanding tool to help you write a great deal more than ordinary essay. You can learn different writing styles and patterns that are really advantageous to any educational writing. Moreover, you will be able to tell different student essay styles that are specific to the course.The sample contains several different features. You can use the document with the files open to see various contents. This is certainly one thing that will make a better start to your entire career. You can always tweak your file as many times as necessary to get the style that you want. Using this free u of I llc essay sample will help you save lots of time and money.This software will help you in writing a typical legal faculty essay. Although this may not be your best choice for essays you plan to write, it could help you start in the right direction. Whether you are a first-year student or you have been working in the same school for several years, this might just be the best writing guide you can have.The samples also help you in choosing the format for your essays. The programs may be very user-friendly if you are a beginner. It is a good idea to see what each program offers before using the program in order to choose the best one that fits you best.The special features include providing plenty of suggestions. Some people find that they get overwhelmed by their assigned topics or that the subject matter seems too complicated. This tool can help you become an advanced writer quickly.The online essay writing software can also provide great help in making sure that you don't make any mistakes. In many cases, this could even increase your creativity. You will definitely enjoy all the great ideas you are able to come up with after using this tool.You can easily get started with the basic programs when you have an existing writing history. For most people, the initial program to test out is the one that gives them the most writing tips and sample. The rest will be quite simple, once you are familiar with the settings.

Operation Gomorrah in World War II

Operation Gomorrah in World War II Operation Gomorrah - Conflict: Operation Gomorrah was an aerial bombing campaign that occurred in the European Theater of Operations during World War II (1939-1945). Operation Gomorrah - Dates: The orders for Operation Gomorrah were signed on May 27, 1943. Commencing on the night of July 24, 1943, the bombing continued until August 3. Operation Gomorrah - Commanders Forces: Allies Air Chief Marshal Arthur Bomber Harris, Royal Air ForceMajor General Ira C. Eaker, US Army Air ForceBritish: approx. 700 bombers per raidAmericans: approx. 50-70 bombers per raid Operation Gomorrah - Results: Operation Gomorrah destroyed a significant percentage of the city of Hamburg, leaving over 1 million residents homeless and killing 40,000-50,000 civilians. In the immediate wake of the raids, over two-thirds of Hamburgs population fled the city. The raids severely shook the Nazi leadership, leading Hitler to be concerned that similar raids on other cities could force Germany out of the war. Operation Gomorrah - Overview: Conceived by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Air Chief Marshal Arthur Bomber Harris, Operation Gomorrah called for a coordinated, sustained bombing campaign against the German port city of Hamburg. The campaign was the first operation to feature coordinated bombing between the Royal Air Force and the US Army Air Force, with the British bombing by night and the Americans conducting precision strikes by day. On May 27, 1943, Harris signed Bomber Command Order No. 173 authorizing the operation to move forward. The night of July 24 was selected for the first strike. To aid in the operations success, RAF Bomber Command decided to debut two new additions to its arsenal as part of Gomorrah. The first of these was the H2S radar scanning system which provided bomber crews with a TV-like image of the ground below. The other was a system known as Window. The forerunner of modern chaff, Window was bundles of aluminum foil strips carried by each bomber, which, when released, would disrupt German radar. On the night of July 24, 740 RAF bombers descended on Hamburg. Led by H2S equipped Pathfinders, the planes struck their targets and returned home with a loss of only 12 aircraft. This raid was followed up the next day when 68 American B-17s struck Hamburgs U-boat pens and shipyards. The next day, another American attack destroyed the citys power plant. The high point of the operation came on the night of July 27, when 700 RAF bombers ignited a firestorm causing 150 mph winds and 1,800Â ° temperatures, leading even the asphalt to burst into flames. Strung out from the previous days bombing, and with the citys infrastructure demolished, German fire crews were unable to effectively combat the raging inferno. The majority of German casualties occurred as the result of the firestorm. While the night raids continued for another week until the operations conclusion on August 3, the American daytime bombings ceased after the first two days due to smoke from the previous nights bombings obscuring their targets. In addition to the civilian casualties, Operation Gomorrah destroyed over 16,000 apartment buildings and reduced ten square miles of the city to rubble. This tremendous damage, coupled with the relatively small loss of aircraft, led Allied commanders to consider Operation Gomorrah a success.

Comstock Law and Its Role in Birth Control History

Comstock Law and Its Role in Birth Control History Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles for Immoral Use The Comstock Law, passed in the United States in 1873, was part of a campaign for legislating public morality in the United States. As its full title (above) implies, the Comstock Law was meant to stop the trade in obscene literature and immoral articles. In reality, the Comstock Law was targeted not only at obscenity and dirty books but at birth control devices and information on such devices, at abortion, and at information on sexuality and on sexually transmitted diseases. The Comstock Law was widely used to prosecute those who distributed information or devices for birth control. In 1938, in a case involving Margaret Sanger, Judge August Hand lifted the federal ban on birth control, effectively ending the use of the Comstock Law to target birth control information and devices.

Public relations Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7250 words

Public relations - Dissertation Example The field of Public Relations has been rapidly growing of late mostly because of the non-commercial and commercial organizations have started realizing the need for introducing various public relations activities. The means through which the public relations message need to be conveyed has increased considerably in the recent years for instance the cables, internet and satellite are the mass Medias which are unevenly distributed and globalized at the same time. A simple definition of Public Relations can be â€Å"Public Relations is the positive communication of a company or brand's message to all its target audiences is they staff, customers, the general public, the trade or government bodies†. However a more significant distinction by Destiny could be- PR as tactical communication, at a superior stage within the firm, and; PR as largely applied: intended at attaining column inches in the technical journals or favorable remark in the financial press. Public relations have bee n accompanying us for over thousands of years. â€Å"Sematikos† is the Greek term for Public Relations which mean Semantics. During 50 B.C. Julius Caesar created the first campaign memoirs named, â€Å"Caesar’s Gallic Wars†. There he revealed his military utilization strategies to persuade the Roman citizens that he was the best Monarch of the state. St. Augustine, who was a professor of public speaking in Milan during the 394 A.D., used to deliver the usual acclamation to the ruler and was the closest person to a minister for the imperial court. Thus, it can be said that St. Augustine was the first to be charged with public relations function. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet named â€Å"The Crisis† In 1776 that convinced the Washington Army to settle and start fighting at a time when there will be a number of people prepared to move towards arid region so that they could flee from the cold and the adversity of a winter operation. He was known as a master o f political communication whose works could easily influence the actions and thoughts of the mass. Lincoln's secretary of state, William Seward, gained a large number of audiences of America, during the year 1861, through his considerate way of speaking by the efficient usage of the press. He stated, "I speak to the newspapers – they have a large audience and can repeat a thousand times what I want to impress on the public.† In the year 1963, John Marston held a perception of PR which is still considered as true in today’s context, which says, â€Å"a brotherhood of some 100,000 whose common bond is its profession and whose common woe is that no two of them can ever quite agree on what that profession is â€Å"Public Relations has been defined in different ways by a variety of scholars and practitioners in which the term â€Å"management† has been used largely. The definition of Public Relations as stated by Grunig and Hunt says â€Å"management of comm unication between an organization and its publics†; Ledingham and Bruning described PR specifically as â€Å"relationship management† while the argument by Cutlip states that PR is â€Å"the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the public on whom its success and failure depends† According to Kitchen and Papasolomou, several scholar states that PR

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 262

Assignment Example Social forces highlight the consumer behavior pattern and demand in the market place. Like if the restaurant is opened in a rural area where the social forces restrict people to go to a restaurant then it would not be beneficial for the business. These forces denote the effectiveness and efficiency of a business. As the external environment introduces new technology or innovation it becomes important for a business to incorporate advanced technology in order to stay at par with other players. Apple Inc. can be regarded as most prominent example in this field as it upgrades its technical factors as and when required. Political instability seems to disrupt the entire business environment. The norms and regulations that are set forth by the political authority govern functioning of a business (Daft and Marcic 91). On the other hand tax benefits that are authorized by leaders denote the profit margin for the business. Indianapolis is a region where majority of manufacturing factories had closed down due to such unstable political scenario and increasing rate of homicide. A new business venture that is set forth is basically based on the factor of solving a hidden problem of consumers. In case of a restaurant the major problem can be unavailability of a specific kind of cuisine for which there is high demand in the market place. For instance people had a hidden demand for such a device which would operate as a phone but even perform necessary operations of a laptop and this problem was eradicated with the launch of tablet. Market gaps are generally associated with hidden demand which has not yet explored by any players in a particular industry. Filling in this gap would mean that a business venture is been able to successfully position itself in the market and can achieve competitive