Bandura

• What is the aim?

  To see whether children will imitate aggressive behaviour even if in different environment and without a role model present     
• What were the hypotheses?

  • Children shown aggressive models will show more aggressive acts resembling those of the models rather than those shown non-aggressive or no models 
  • Children shown non-aggressive models will show less aggressive behaviours than those shown aggressive or no models 
  • Boys will show more imitative aggression than girls 
  • Children will imitate the same sex model behaviour to a greater degree than the opposite sex’s behaviours 
• What is the method?

  Lab experiment with observation, independent measures, matched pairs
• What is the sample?

  • 72, 3-5 year olds (36 boys and 36 girls) from Stanford University School 
  • Matched through a procedure that rated them on their level of aggression by the experimenter and nursery school teacher on a 5 point scale 
  • Scale measured both verbal and physical aggression towards inanimate objects 
  • Randomly assigned to conditions  
• What were the IVs and the DV?

  IV – Role Model: 

  • Whether child witnessed an aggressive or non aggressive adult model 
  • Control – not exposed to an adult model 

  IV – Sex of role model: 

  • Male or female role model 

  IV -  Sex of child: 

  • Male or female   

  DV: 

  • Amount of imitative behaviour and aggression measured by a male model and another observer noting down at a 5 second interval through a one way mirror 

  Physical act – acts imitated such as hitting Bobo over the head with mallet 

  Verbal act – phrases imitated “Pow” 
• What happened in the modelling phase?

  • Child taken individually 
  • Table on corner where child sits making a picture out of stickers and potato prints 
  • Opposite corner model sits playing quietly with toys and has a 5ft Bobo doll and mallet  
  • After 5 mins the model turns to the Bobo and sits on it and starts punching and kicking it 
  • Done 3 times with phrases such as “pow” and “hit him down” 
• What happens in the aggressive arousal phase?

  • Attractive toys in room e.g. fire engine, dolls, baby crib 
  • After 2 mins experimenter said the toys were reserved for other children 
• What happens in the delayed imitation phase?

  • Room with aggressive toys such as mallet and 3ft Bobo doll as well as non-aggressive toys such as a tea set and paper and crayons 
  • Observed through a one-way mirror by the male model and a second observer who was present for half of the participants 
  • They didn’t know whether the child was in the experimental or control condition 
  • Time sampling every 5 seconds 
• What were the behaviour codes in the observation?

  1. Imitative aggression responses 

  • Physical – specific acts imitated 
  • Verbal aggression – any phrases imitated 

        2. Partially imitative responses 

  • Mallet aggression – mallet on toys rather than Bobo 
  • Sits on Bobo doll but not behaving aggressively 

        3. Non imitative aggressive responses  

  • Punch, strike, slap Bobo doll 
  • Aggressive behaviour directed at toys rather than Bobo 
  • Saying hostile things not said by Bobo 
  • Aggressive gun play 

        4. Non verbal responses  

  • Saying “He keeps coming back for more” 
• What were the results?

  • Children in the aggressive condition showed significantly more imitation of physical and verbal aggressive behaviour 
  • Boys produced more aggressive imitation than girls  
  • The behaviour of the male model exerted greater influence than the male model 
• What were the conclusions?

  • Children learn behaviour through observation and imitation 
  • Boys and girls likely to learn verbal aggression from same-sex adult 
• How is the study useful?

  • Parenting – influence a paternal figure has over children  
  • Nurseries  
• What was the background?

  • Classical conditioning is a technique used in behavioural therapy in which a naturally occurring stimuli is paired with a response. Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through reward and punishment. Social learning theory thinks that children learn through observation and if children identify with an adult then they adopt their behaviour. Negative reinforcement is where you are rewarded for a behaviour. Positive reinforcement is where you are punished for a behaviour