4.1.8 - Bandura (1961,1963) original Bobo doll experiments Flashcards
(37 cards)
1961 - what was the aim of the experiment?
to investigate whether exposure to aggression influenced behaviour
1961 - what were the hypotheses for the experiment?
children exposed to aggressive role models would imitate the aggression
boys would show more imitative aggressive behaviour than girls
1961 - what was the sample for the study?
72 children from the Stanford University Nursery School (36 boys and 36 girls) with a mean age of 52 months
1961 - how was the sample grouped in the study?
there were 8 experimental groups with 6 children in each, and a control group with 24 children
in the experimental groups, half saw an aggressive and half saw a non-aggressive role model
the groups were then split again so half the pps in the aggressive and non-aggressive conditions saw a same-sex role model and the other half saw an opposite sex role model
the control group didn’t experience the presence of a role model
1961 - how were baseline levels of aggression controlled for?
four 5-point scales were used to rate pps on characteristics like physical and verbal aggression, aggression inhibition and aggression towards inanimate objects
pps in each group were matched for aggression so the groups were similar
1961 - was the procedure for the initial part of the study?
the pp was brought into a room, sat at a table and instructed on how to play with things like potato prints
another table in the room had a tinker-toy (construction set), mallet and Bobo doll
soon after the experimenter brought the pp into the room, a model entered
the child was shown how to draw a picture in one corner of the room and the model sat at the table with the other toys in the opposite corner (child overheard experimenter say to model that child had no access to their play area)
1961 - what happened in the aggressive condition?
the model initially played with the tinker toys but then turned to the Bobo doll and made distinct aggressive acts against it which were repeated three times:
sitting on it and punching it on the nose
hitting it on the head with the mallet
throwing it in the air and kicking it around the room
in between the behaviours, both aggressive eg. kick him and non aggressive eg. he sure is a tough fella verbal statements were used
1961 - what happened in the non-aggressive condition?
the model sat and played quietly with the toys, ignoring the Bobo doll
1961 - what is interval sampling?
observing behaviour at regular intervals time intervals
1961 - what happened after 10 minutes in the aggressive/non-aggressive conditions?
the child was taken to a room and given toys to play with - after 2 minutes they were told the toys were for other children and they could play with the toys in an adjoining room (to provoke mild aggressive arousal)
in the adjoining room there were toys categorised as aggressive eg. Bobo doll and non-aggressive eg. tea set
pps spent 20 minutes in the room and were observed through a one way mirror using interval sampling
the behaviour the pps displayed was scored
1961 - what categories of behaviour were pps scored on?
three types of imitative behaviour - imitative verbal aggression, imitative non-aggressive verbal statements, imitative physical aggression
also mallet aggression, non-imitative physical or verbal aggression and aggressive gun play
observations of non-aggressive behaviour were also made ie. sitting quietly and not playing at all
1961 - what were the results of the study?
pps in the aggressive model condition were more physically and verbally aggressive (established quantitatively using mean aggression scores)
imitation wasn’t just linked to aggression - 1/3 of pps in the aggressive condition displayed non-aggressive verbal statements
sitting on the Bobo doll was significantly more common in the aggressive condition
pps in aggressive condition more likely to show non-imitative aggression
boys exposed to male model showed more imitative physical aggression, girls exposed to female model showed more imitative verbal aggression and non-imitative aggression
pps in non-aggressive condition spent double the amount of time sitting in the room and not interacting with any play equipment
1961 - what were the conclusions of the study?
if a child is exposed to an aggressive model it is likely they will imitate this behaviour
boys more likely to imitate same-sex role model than girls
1961 - strengths - applications?
findings of study have led to ongoing debates about effect of TV violence on children’s behaviour
1961 - strengths - replicability and reliability?
used standardised procedure and controls eg. 10 minutes in each condition, specific verbal statements
only agreed behaviours between observers were recorded so good inter-rater reliability (degrees of agreement between two raters of behaviour was 0.90)
Bandura’s later research obtained similar findings showing reliability
1961 - strengths - objectivity?
gathered quantitative data by calculating mean aggression scores in each condition
quantified behaviour by using a behaviour checklist eg. noted ‘number of imitative physical aggressive acts’ to find mean average
1961 - strengths - validity?
in aggressive and non-aggressive conditions pps were exposed to models of the same and opposite sex - controlled for confound of model’s gender
observed behaviour through one-way mirror - children didn’t know they were being watched to prevent social desirability bias
use of control condition allowed for comparison to be sure that exposure to aggression was what influenced behaviour
1961 - weaknesses - methodology?
Bandura only studied immediate impact of observing aggressive models on behaviour, so we don’t know what long-term changes may be
1961 - weaknesses - validity?
Bobo doll was TV character at time and was known to be punched
Bandura reported that some children made comments before study like ‘Ok mum there is the doll we have to hit’
creates doubts on whether ‘observational learning’ really caused changes in behaviour
1961 - weaknesses - generalisability?
all pps came from nursery at Stanford University so only represented white upper middle class population
sample’s parents may have been more educated
sample is culturally biased and findings can’t be generalised to other cultures (children may also have been more inclined to be responsive to model’s behaviour)
1961 - weaknesses - ethics?
Wortman, Loftus and Weaver (1998) argued study was morally wrong as pps were ‘manipulated’ to respond in an aggressive way ie. agitation was incited when they were told they couldn’t play with certain toys
1963 - what was the background to the study?
Freud’s idea suggested that watching violence on film could be cathartic and therefore reduce aggression
there was an incident in San Francisco in 1961 where boys re-enacted a TV fight and one boy was seriously hurt - this showed the necessity of studying film violence on children
the researchers believed that the further away a model was from reality eg. cartoon, the less they would be imitated
another theory was that those who have had negative feedback from being aggressive would be less likely to imitate aggression as they would feel anxious when witnessing aggression
1963 - what were the aims of the study?
to see if aggression seen on film would be imitated
to see whether boys would show more imitative aggression than girls
to see whether those who were frustrated and had watched aggression would show more aggression than those who hadn’t watched it
to see whether those more anxious about aggression would show less imitative aggression
1963 - what was the sample for the study?
48 boys and 48 girls from Stanford University Nursery School aged between 3 and 5
