diff --git a/lib/Cake/Model/Model.php b/lib/Cake/Model/Model.php
index 2fa1a7e1377..8a2a9b22337 100644
--- a/lib/Cake/Model/Model.php
+++ b/lib/Cake/Model/Model.php
@@ -2326,7 +2326,7 @@ public function validateAssociated(&$data, $options = array()) {
 		}
 
 		if (empty($options['deep'])) {
-			$data[$this->alias] = $this->data[$this->alias];
+			$data = $this->data;
 		} else {
 			$modelData = $this->data;
 			$recordData = $modelData[$this->alias];