Bandura (developmental psychology)

• What was the purpose of the study?

  • to see if the social learning theory was applicable to children
  • to see if children would imitate the actions of of a role model when given the opportunity to
• What type of experiment was it?


  • observation
  • lab experiment (has variables)
• What type of experiment of groups were involved?

  • matched groups - to measure primary aggression
• What were the variables?

  • dependent = aggression shown
  • independent = 1/2 aggressive role model, non-aggressive role mode.

  3/4 male/female role model, male/female child

  • control = toys, time, behavioural
• What were the participants?


  • 71 nursery children - 37 to 69 months
  • 36 boys, 36 girls
  • 24 children = aggressive role model
  • 24 children = non-aggressive role model
  • 24 children = no role model (control)
• What was measured?

  • physical aggression /5
  • verbal aggression /5
  • aggression towards objects /5
  • inhibition /5
• What happened in stage 1? (exposure)


  • 24 children were exposed to an aggressive role model, who attacked the ’bobo doll’, used a hammer and shouted ‘pow’ and ‘boom’
  • 24 children were exposed to a non-aggressive role model for 10 minutes, who played calmly and ignored the ‘bobo doll’
  • 24 children were used as a control group, so were’t exposed to any role model
• What happened in stage 2 (arousal)?


  • children were individually put into an observation with attractive toys
  • once children were engaged with the toy, it was taken away from them to arouse their anger
• What happened in stage 3? (observation)


  • observers (using inter-rater reliability), used a behavioural checklist and time sampling to monitor the children’s behaviour
  • recorded any aggressive behaviour shown every 5 seconds, for 20 minutes
  • (mallet, gun, bobo doll, physical+verbal aggression)
• What is the conclusion?

  • the experiment supports the social learning theory
• Advantages?

  • shows cause and effect
  • shows nature vs nurture
  • behaviourism perspective - behaviour is learnt from the role model
  • matched participants = eliminates participant of aggression variables (more valid)
  • lab experiment = highly controlled, no extraneous variables (more valid)
• Disadvantages?

  • lack ecological validity - didn’t represent real life aggressive situations
  • may not be learnt aggressions
  • unethical - uniformed consent, parents dint know, little respect for child
• Generalisability?


  • large samples = removes anomalies
  • all from stanford university nursery school, so parents were probably educated their before (ungeneralisable)
• Reliability?


  • can be replicated due to the standardised procedure
  • used 2 observers = inter-rater reliability
• Application?


  • variations can be applied to parenting styles
• Validity?


  • lacks ecological validity, as children were placed in a strange situation and were encouraged to ply with random things and a stranger
  • there are biological reasons for aggression
• Ethics?


  • no informed consent
  • parents didn’t know
• Results?

  • boys showed more physical aggression
  • girls showed more verbal aggression
  • boys more likely to imitate same sex models
  • girls in aggressive category showed more physical aggression to a male role model