To investigate whether children would be more aggressive when they viewed a model rewarded for their aggression. The study was to investigate vicarious reinforcement.
Sample of Bandura (1965)
33 girls and 33 boys from Stanford University Nursery School.
Procedure of Bandura (1965)
TV showed a programme 5 minutes long in which a male model exhibited aggressive behaviour. Depending on the condition the model was then rewarded (soft drink + sweets and told “strong champion”), punished (shaking finger,told “big bully", hit with newspaper) or there was no response to the aggression
10 mins per child, 2 observers
Findings of Bandura (1965)
Bandura’s results showed that children were more likely to imitateaggressive behaviour if the model was positively rewarded. Bandura’s original belief that boys would perform more imitated responses than girls was also supported.
Conclusions of Bandura (1965)
Exposure alone does not create imitation but behavior is shaped by vicarious reinforcement.
