Mary Cover Jones

Definition

Mary Cover Jones was a developmental psychologist known for her work in early behavioral therapy. She is best known for her experiment on "Little Peter," which demonstrated that fears could be unlearned, leading to the development of desensitization techniques.

Related terms

Classical Conditioning: A learning process where two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.

Systematic Desensitization: A type of exposure therapy that involves confronting an old fear in a gradual, systematic way until the fear is extinguished.

Counterconditioning: This refers to conditioning of an unwanted behavior or response to a stimulus into a wanted behavior or response by the association of positive actions with the stimulus.