Bandura

• Background

  • one of the first studies to look at learning via observation and imitation
  • leading on from other behaviourist theories of learning such as operant and classical conditioning
• aim

  • to investigate if aggressive behaviour can be learnt in children by imitating an aggressive role model
  • would children reproduce aggressive acts they had seen from an aggressive role model?
  • would observing a non-aggressive role model lead to lower levels of aggression (than those who saw no model)?
  • would children be more likely to imitate a model of the same sex as them?
  • would boys or girls show higher levels of aggression?
• method


  controlled observation and matched pairs experimental design
• sample

  • opportunity sampling
  • 72 children from Stanford nurses school
  • aged 37-69 months
  • 36 boys, 36 girls
  • the children were split into 3 conditions:

  -aggressive model: children observed an adult acting aggressively

  -non-aggressive model: children observed a non-aggressive adult

  -no model: children did not observe an adult at all (control)
• procedure 


  • each child is taken into the experimental room
  • if in the aggressive model condition, the model will become physically and verbally aggressive model condition, the model will become physically and verbally aggressive towards the doll for 10 minutes
  • if in the non-aggressive model, the model played with toys and did not play with the bobo doll at all
  • then the child is taken into another room full of new toys and taken out after 2 minutes
  • the child is taken to a third room for 20 minutes where they are unknowingly observed by 3 people as they play with the toys
• conclusions


  • aggressive behaviour can be transmitted through observation and imitation
  • seeing adults act in a certain way means that children think its okay to act that way too
  • there were gender differences because in western culture, boys and girls are socialised to act in certain ways. girls are more comfortable with verbal aggression because physical aggression in 'unladylike'. boys see heroic characters use aggression in stories
• links to the area

  • the study shows that a child's external environment can have a large influence on their later behaviour
  • children will learn behaviours simply by observing (adult) role models and imitating the behaviours they see
  • this can be both negative and positive behaviours