bandura (1965) variation

• aim

  to investigate whether reinforcement or the punishment of an aggressive model would influence aggression displayed in children in response to frustration
• participants

  33 boys and 33 girls aged 42-71 months from stanford university nursery
• 3 conditions

  1. model rewarded
  2. model punished
  3. no consequence condition
• model rewarded condition

  children saw a second adult praise the model for their aggression and give them a drink and chocolate
• model punished

  second adult scolded model and spanked them with a rolled up magazine
• no consequence condition

  model was neither reinforced nor punished - children frustrated then taken into a playroom
• what were all 3 groups later offered

  attractive rewards to aggress towards the doll
• findings

  children in model punished condition were less aggressive than other groups, however aggression increased for all groups when the reward was offered
• conclusion

  imitated aggression decreased when model was punished but reinforcement is a more powerful influence on aggression
• strength

  • participants were of an equal gender mix which prevents androcentric bias in findings
  • more generalisable to children of both genders
• weakness

  • randomisation means they were not matched for prior aggression levels
  • one group may have had higher aggression prior to exposure to the role model
• weakness

  • 10 minute observation may not reflect how vicarious reinforcement influences children’s learned behaviour in the long term
  • limiting the application of the findings about learned aggression