Article critic

The changing and dynamic ideas circumventing the psychological realm have paved the way for the creation of new concepts and theories that seek to explain behaviors of individuals and man . This initiative in turn has brought about both positive and implications in the realm of the study . In the end , by responsibly creating new concepts based on the previous ones , these mistakes can be properly addressed

The article of Harris mentions one example of the common mistakes committed by psychologists in the creation and citation of a particular experiment of individuals concerning

the behavior of a child - little Albert . With this , the author presented a historical elaboration of how little Albert 's case was used by different psychological scholars in the formulation and creation of new theories and studies

One important misinterpretation was the citing of little Albert 's case in the preparedness theory . Harris in the article critically asserts the relatively misinterpreted claim about little Albert 's manifestation during the experiment . In addition to presenting this inaccurate picture of how Albert 's fear initially generalized , Seligman 's account also misrepresents the ease with which Albert was conditioned , the durability of his reactions , and the details of an attempt to replicate the Albert study (Harris , 1979 ,

.156

Another important discrepancy created in the case of Albert was in the creation of textbooks that gives several inaccurate accounts of what happened during the experiment . Of more significance are text misrepresentations of the range of Albert 's postconditioning fears and of the postexperimental fate of Albert (Harris , 1979 ,

.153 ) These alterations have indeed proved to teach false accounts of what truly happened . After which , the article presents several explanations on as to why such misrepresentations take place

In the end , the article points out the relevancy of the elaboration of these mistakes of previous authors and psychologists concerning the explanation and analysis of little Albert 's case . Though the article showcased several mistakes , it does not seek to showcase the readers that the authors are misleading . Instead , it arises as largely a byproduct of pedagogy : as a means to elucidate the concepts of scientific specialty , to establish its tradition and to attract students (Harris , 1979 ,

.157

Realizing this , there must be continued responsibility among new practitioners in the field of psychology to responsibly be aware and knowledgeable about the previous studies and experiments they will use to create new concepts and ideas . Yes , it may be true that innovation and development is needed in such realm , however by jeopardizing and sacrificing the real content and essence of a subject would be detrimental in the further analysis

On the other hand , it is understandable that scientific research and development entails different challenges and difficulties . Achieving a breakthrough requires continued trial and error experiments and mistakes that can be subject to critique and scrutiny by the members of the experts in the field . In the end , it all boils down to the fact that indeed these mistakes committed by several members...