Why is Watson and Rayner's famous study demonstrating the learning of fear in a young boy unlikely to ever be repeated?
A) Evolutionary psychology has given us an innate resistance to the fear of harmless animals.
B) Behaviorism, which formed the basis of Watson and Rayner's theory, is no longer a viable psychological perspective.
C) There are serious questions about the ethics of inducing fear in a child for research purposes.
D) The child in the initial study was irreversibly damaged from the experiment, and Watson and Rayner recanted their own findings as a result of that damage.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The ethics of inducing fear in a child for research purposes is now heavily scrutinized and regulated, making it unlikely that any similar studies would be allowed to take place. This type of research would likely be considered unethical by modern standards.

Why Is Watson and Rayner's Famous Study Demonstrating the Learning