Which of the following best demonstrates the concept of generalization observed in the Little Albert experiment?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To understand the concept, first recall that generalization in the Little Albert study refers to the child responding with fear to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus (the white rat) after conditioning. 
Option 1: 'Albert showing fear of failure as he slowly grows into a man whose friends still call Little Al.' This option describes a social or personal development aspect rather than a conditioned emotional generalization to similar stimuli. It does not illustrate the transfer of fear to similar objects. 
Option 2: 'Albert showing fear towards other white, furry objects such as a rabbit.' This directly demonstrates generalization: a fear response spreads from the original stimulus (white, furry rat) to other similar stimuli (white, furry rabbit), which is the hallmark of generalization in classical conditioning. 
Option 3: 'Albert showing fear only when he heard the loud noise.' This reflects the original conditioned response to the aversive stimulus (the noise) but does not show expansion to similar stimuli, so it is not an example of generalization. 
Option 4: 'Albert showing fear towards the white rat but not to other stimuli.' This describes discrimination, where the subject distinguishes the conditioned stimulus from other similar stimuli, rather than generalizing the fear to them. 
Putting these together, the statement that best captures generalization is the broadening of fear to other white, furry objects, not just the exact original cue. The other options illustrate discrimination, original conditioning without generalization, or unrelated behavioral tendencies rather than a generalized fear response.

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Which of the following best demonstrates the concept of generalization observed in the Little Albert experiment?

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