bandura et al (1963)

• bandura: aim


  to see if observing aggression in films (human/cartoon characters) would lead to different levels of imitative aggression than using real life models
• bandura: sample


  96 children

  48 boys and 48 girls

  from Stanford university who were matched on pre-existing aggression (score out of 5)
• bandura: procedure


  real-life human aggression: same procedure as 1961 study

  filmed human aggression: a film was projected on to a wall, while the child played in a darkened room, of a model behaving aggressively

  cartoon character aggression: the children played in to room and the TV played a cartoon of the female model dressed as a cat behaving aggressively

  control group: same procedure as 1961 study

  children were exposed to aggression arousal as before

  observations were agin recorded every 5 seconds for 20 minutes
• bandura: results


  mean total real-life aggression (83)

  mean total human film aggression (92)

  mean total cartoon aggression (99)

  mean total control group aggression (54)

  all 3 conditions displayed higher aggression than the control

  aggression levels were not significantly different for the cartoon compared to the real model

  there was no significant gender difference in aggression levels but those who watched the male role model displayed more gun play than those who saw the female role model
• bandura: conclusion 


  children learn aggression via observation and imitation

  whether the model is real or cartoon
• bandura: reliability (+)


  it is standardised as all the children experience a real and cartoon role model behave in a film and then aggressive arousal this means that the research is higher in reliability as it is able to test how observation of a role model on film being a cartoon or real affects children's aggression in a consistent way
• bandura: generalisability (-)


  it is a restricted sample as it only used 96 children (48 boys/girls) from stanford university this means that the results are low in generalisability as they are not representative of imitation of aggression from a film (human or cartoon characters) in adults
• bandura: validity (+)


  the children used didn't display demand characteristics of expected aggression as they were unaware of bing watching

  therefore results are are higher in validity as they are an accurate reflection of how children imitate aggression from a film of human or cartoon characters
• bandura: quantitative data (+)

  quantitative data was collecting as mean number of aggression being in each condition can be objectively analysed so not open to bias this means that accurate conclusions can be drawn about how aggression was caused by observing and imitating a film character or cartoon aggressive behaviour