Bandura 1961

• What was the aim?

  To see if children would copy an adults behaviour towards a bobo doll
• What was the sample?

  36 boys

  36 girls

  aged between 3-6
• In the aggressive condition what did the role model do?

  Began assembling toys but turned to the bobo doll and was aggressive towards it
• In the non-aggressive condition what did the role model d?

  Sat in the corner and played with the toys quietly, ignoring the bobo doll
• What was the main finding relating to the gender of the participant?

  Boys were more aggressive than girls
• Which gender was more likely to engage in verbal aggression?

  girls
• Which gender was more likely to engage in physical aggression?

  boys
• What was the main finding relating to the gender of the model?

  If the model in the aggressive condition was male, both girls and boys showed more physical aggression
• What were the main findings relating to the aggressive vs non-aggressive models?

  There was more physical aggression if the model was aggressive
• What did Bandura conclude?

  Children learn through social behaviour through observational learning and boys were more likely to imitate the same-sex role model
• Give 2 strengths of the study

  1.Eco-logical validity: the nursery was a natural setting- However, it was not their normal nursery setting and deliberately made the children angry

  2.Application: understanding how children learn an acquire behaviours- useful for modifying behaviour in teaching and parenting
• Give 2 weaknesses:

  1.Ethics: the children were deliberately encouraged to be aggressive so may be aggressive to others after the study- do not know the long term impact of the study

  2.Generalisability: sample was only children aged 3-5 so the findings may not be the same for older children/teenagers/adults