bandura + chaney

• Bandura (1961) Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models
• The external influences on children's behaviour
• Bandura study belongs in Developmental area & Behaviourist perspective
• Observing and imitating role models
• Behaviourist perspective proposes the view that we are all born a blank slate and that everything we do, think, feel has been learnt since are born
• All behaviour is a product of our environment (nurture)
• Behaviourist perspective theories

  • Classical conditioning: Learning through association
  • Operant conditioning: learning through the consequences (positive reinforcement/punishment)
• Developmental psychology looks at how thinking, feeling, and behavior change throughout a person's life
• A significant proportion of theories within this discipline focus upon development during childhood, as this is the period during an individual's lifespan when the most change occurs
• Developmental psychologists are concerned with observable behaviour, we are the products of our environment, we acquire our behaviour through learning
• Previous research suggests that children will imitate behaviour of an adult if the model remains present
• 4 hypotheses

  • 1=children shown agg models will show more imitative aggressive acts resembling those of their models than those shown non aggressive models
  • 2=children shown non agg models will show less agg behaviour than those shown agg models
  • 3=boys will show more aggression than girls
  • 4= children will imitate same sex model behaviour to a greater degree than opposite sex behaviour
• Aims: To investigate the extent to which children would imitate aggression modelled by an adult, To investigate the effects of gender on imitation
• 3 IVs in the study

  • Whether the individual witnessed an aggressive or a non-aggressive adult model in the 1st phases of the exp
  • The sex of the model (male or female)
  • The sex of the child (boy or girl)
• DV

  The amount of full imitative behaviour and aggression shown by the child (in phase 3), measured by the male model and, at times a second researcher observing each child through a one way mirror and noting down at 5 sec intervals displays of imitative responses, partially imitative aggression responses, non-imitative responses (make up own aggressive acts e.g. gun)
• Sampleof Bandura

  • 72 children USA
  • 36 boys & 36 girls
  • Aged 37-69 months (3-6YRS)
  • Mean age 52 months
  • From Stanford uni nursery
• Procedure

  1. Conditions:

  2. 1=Aggression: 12 boys and 12 girls were exposed to an aggressive model. 6 girls and 6 boys saw an aggressive model of the same sex, the rest saw it modelled by the opposite sex

  3. 2= non aggression: 12 boys and 12 girls were exposed to a non-aggressive model. 6 girls and 6 boys saw a non- aggressive model of the same sex, the rest saw it modelled by the opposite sex

  4. 3= A control group: 12 boys and 12 girls did not see a model display any behaviour, aggressive or otherwise

  5. The children were matched on their levels of aggression, (this could not be a CV)

  6. This done by the nursery teacher children on a scale 0-5. (0=not agg 5= v agg)

  7. 1st stage: Modelling the behaviour - each child is brought into the playroom (individually) and invited to play a game. 10 min. (In the first two conditions there was an additional adult in the room)

  8. In the aggressive condition, an adult demo aggression towards a 5 foot inflatable bobo doll, kicking and hitting, inc with a hammer. They also said aggressive things "kick him" "pow" "sock him on the nose".

  9. In the non-aggressive condition, the adult assembled the toys and did not interact with the doll.

  10. In the control condition, there was no adult in the room.

  11. 2nd stage: Aggression arousal - The children needed to be annoyed and increase the chance of aggressive behaviour!! All the children were then taken to a different play room with some very attractive toys. After being allowed to play with these for 2 min, the children were then told they weren't allowed to play with them any more as "they were the very best toys" and they were for other children

  12. 3rd stage: Testing for delayed imitation - Children were then observed playing for the next 20 min with an experimenter in the room but looked busy with paperwork. Two more observers watched through a one way mirror. The room contained a number of toys, including a bobo doll. During the observation, the observers were unaware which condition they were in (eliminate bias).
• Three types of aggression recorded by observers

  • Full Imitative aggression-physical and verbal aggression identical to that modelled in stage 1
  • Partially imitative aggression-similar behaviour to that carried out by the model
  • Non-imitative aggression-new aggressive acts not demonstrated by the model
• Bandura's study and Developmental Psychology area

  Bandura's study links to the assumption that developmental psychology looks at how thinking, feeling, and behavior change throughout a person's life, as it focused on how children can learn and develop through social processes
• Bandura's study and Behaviourist perspective

  Bandura's study links to the Behaviourist assumption that all behaviour is a product of our environment, as it showed that children's behaviour can be learned through observing and imitating aggressive models
• Bandura's study and key theme of external influences on behaviour


  Bandura's study links to this key theme because it investigated how the external influence of observing an aggressive adult model affected children's behaviour, finding that children were more likely to imitate the aggressive acts they witnessed
• Standard deviation is a measure of dispersion that tells you how spread the scores are from the mean, with a smaller SD indicating more consistency in the results
• Standard deviation

  A measure of how spread out the scores are from the mean. Smaller SD means less spread from the mean, larger SD means more spread from the mean
• Standard deviation

  A measure of how consistent or inconsistent the findings were. Smaller SD means more consistent results, larger SD means more inconsistent results
• Questions

  • What is the currency of Denmark?
  • Which Tennis Grand Slam is played on a clay surface?
  • In which European country would you find the Rijksmuseum?
  • How many films have Al Pacino and Robert De Niro appeared in together?
  • What was the old name for a Snickers bar before it changed in 1990?
  • Who was the head of state in Japan during the second world war?
  • What is the smallest planet in our solar system?
  • Who wrote the novels Gone Girl and Sharp Objects?
  • Which legendary surrealist artist is famous for painting melting clocks?
  • Which football club plays its home games at Loftus Road?
  • In which part of your body would you find the cruciate ligament?
  • What is the name of the main antagonist in the Shakespeare play Othello?
  • What element is denoted by the chemical symbol Sn in the periodic table?
  • How many of Henry VIII's wives were called Catherine?
  • What was the most popular girls name in the UK in 2021?
  • What is the name of the 1976 film about the Watergate scandal, starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman?
  • Which comedian was the second permanent host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks after Mark Lamarr?
  • Which popular video game franchise has released games with the subtitles World At War and Black Ops?
  • In what US State is the city Nashville?
  • Which rock band was founded by Trent Reznor in 1988?
• Non-experimental method: Questionnaire

  • No IV, measure DV
  • Self-reported
  • Can ask open and closed questions
  • Need to consider ethics, range of questions
• Compliance


  The extent to which a patient follows a plan of medical treatment
• Procedure of Chaney study

  1. Field experiment

  2. IV - type of asthma inhaler device (conventional vs Funhaler)

  3. DV - amount of adherence to the prescribed medical regime

  4. Repeated measures design - all participants used both inhalers
• Participants

  • 32 children (22 male, 10 female)
  • Aged 1.5 to 6 years old (mean 3.2)
  • Australian
  • Average asthma duration 2.2 years
  • All currently using regular inhaler
• Funhaler


  • Incentive toys (spinning disc and whistle) activated by correct use
  • Rewards children when inhaling and exhaling correctly
  • Bright colours to look like a toy
  • Smaller face mask designed specifically for children
• Chaney study method

  1. Parents contacted and briefed, gave informed consent

  2. Interviewed parents via questionnaire about existing inhaler use and attitudes

  3. Given Funhaler for 2 weeks, randomly checked use during this time

  4. Interviewed parents again at end about Funhaler use and attitudes
• How Chaney links to developmental psychology

  • Assumption: Developmental psychology looks at how thinking, feeling, and behavior change throughout a person's life
  • Link: Chaney focused on how children learn and how desirable behaviours can be increased through positive reinforcement
  • Evidence: 30% more children took recommended 4+ puffs with Funhaler
• How Chaney links to behaviourist perspective

  • Assumption: Behaviourist perspective proposes we are born a blank slate and everything is learnt from the environment
  • Link: Chaney used positive reinforcement within operant conditioning, children received enjoyment and toy reward from correct Funhaler use
  • Evidence: 22/30 parents successful at administering with Funhaler vs 3/30 with standard spacer