Bandura (1965)

• What was the aim?

  Would the consequences to the model affect imitation of aggression (vicarious reinforcement)?
• What was the procedure?

  > 33 boys + 33 girls

  > Randomly allocated to either group; model rewarded (rewarded with sweets), model punished (hit with a newspaper), no consequence condition
• What were the results?

  > Rewarded + no consequence = similar, girls mean = 2.8, boys mean = 3.5

  > Punished = less imitation, especially among girls (0.5)
• What was the conclusion?

  > Vicarious punishment reduces imitated aggression

  > Boys will perform more imitative acts
• What were the strengths of Bandura 1965?


  > Even gender mix, generalisable

  > Standardised, replicable

  > Useful applications, guiding teachers
• What were the weaknesses of Bandura 1965?

  > Randomisation, previous dispositions

  > Standardised, cued the behaviour of children, demand characteristics

  > Ethics, children, psychological state