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Read these lines: "Watson handed Little Albert the white rat, and Little Albert enjoyed playing with it. Then Watson made a loud sound, by striking a hammer against a metal bar hanging behind Little Albert's head, each time Little Albert touched the rat. Watson repeatedly paired the loud sound with the white rat. Soon Little Albert became frightened by the white rat alone." According to the quoted lines, what changed Little Albert's reaction to the rat?
AThe rat bit him while he was playing with it one day
BHe slowly grew bored of the rat after weeks of play
CHe watched other children cry whenever the rat appeared
DThe rat was paired again and again with a scary noise
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. The rat was paired again and again with a scary noise
1. The quoted lines say Little Albert at first enjoyed playing with the rat.
2. Watson then struck a metal bar to make a loud sound each time the child touched the rat, and repeated that pairing.
3. After the repeated pairing, the rat alone frightened him, so the rat-plus-noise pairing is what changed his reaction, option D.
4. Option A invents a bite the quoted lines never mention.
5. Boredom and other children likewise appear nowhere in the quoted lines.
_Source: OpenStax Psychology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Learning", section 6.2 Classical Conditioning_
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