Bandura

Question 1

what is being investigated in banduras study?

Answer 1

the social learning in the context of aggression

Question 2

what does the social learning theory suggest

Answer 2

social behaviour is learnt through observation and imitating the behaviour of others.

Question 3

what did bandura want to know?

Answer 3

would aggression be imitated?
would this behaviour be demonstrated without the model?
is the social learning theory applicable?

Question 4

what was the aim of banduras study?

Answer 4

to investigate whether a child would learn aggression by observation and would they reproduce this behaviour in the absence of a model
- was the sex of model important?

Question 5

what was banduras hypotheses?

Answer 5

Observed aggressive behaviour will be imitated. Observed non aggressive behaviour will be imitated.boys will be more aggressive than girls. children are more likely to imitate a model of the same sex

Question 6

describe banduras sample

Answer 6

• 72 children, 36 boys 36 girls
• aged 3 to 6 years
• average age 52 months
  -attended Stanford university nursery

Question 7

what was the research method?

Answer 7

lab experiment

Question 8

what was the experimental design

Answer 8

matched pairs design

Question 9

what were the independent variables?

Answer 9

whether the child observed a non aggressive or aggressive model
- whether the sex of the model was the same as the ppt or different
- the sex of the child

Question 10

what was the dependent variable

Answer 10

the behaviour the child displayed

Question 11

how were ppts allocated to the conditions

Answer 11

The nursery teacher who knew the children well and an experimenter graded each child on how
aggressive they were on a 5-point rating-scale for 4 different
measures:
1. Physical aggression
2. Verbal aggression
3. Aggression towards objects
4. Aggression inhibition (not showing aggression when provoked)
* Then given a total score
* The ppts were put in groups of 3 with the same score
* One of each of the group of 3 allocated to a different condition

Question 12

what was step 1 in the procedure?

Answer 12

the experimenter and child entered the observation room where they showed the child to a table and chair and their play area, they were shown how to make potato prints and sticker pictures. In the opposite part of the room, there was a tinker toy set, a bobo doll and toy mallet

Question 13

why did the experimenter remain in the room?

Answer 13

• so the child would not refuse to be alone or leave early

Question 14

what is stage 1 of the aggressive condition?

Answer 14

The model assembled tinker toys for one minute, after this the model attacked the bobo doll. The doll was laid on its side, punched, kicked. The model made one aggressive comment and two none aggressive comments. Half ppts saw model of same sex half saw model of diff sex

Question 15

what was stage 1 of the non aggressive condition?

Answer 15

The model assembled the tinker toys for 10 mins

Question 16

what was stage 2 of the procedure for all ppts?

Answer 16

ppts were deliberately annoyed, they were taken to another room told they could play with a number of attractive toys and after 2 mins told the toys were reserved for other children

Question 17

why were the children deliberately annoyed?

Answer 17

\To ensure that even in the non-
aggressive condition and control
group, participants would be likely
to show aggression, so any
reduction in that tendency could be
measured.
2) Watching aggression may reduce
the production of aggression by the
observer (even if it has been
learned) and it was necessary to
see evidence of learning

Question 18

what was stage 3 for all ppts

Answer 18

The child was taken to the experimental room
where they were observed for 20 minutes via a
one-way mirror.
In this room there was a range of aggressive toys –
bobo doll, mallet and peg board, 2 dart guns and a
tether ball hung from the ceiling with a face painted
on it.
There were also some non-aggressive toys – tea
set, crayons and colouring paper, a ball, 2 dolls, 3
bears, cars and trucks and plastic farm animals.
These toys were always set out in the same way

Question 19

how was data collected in banduras study?

Answer 19

• the male model scored all of the childrens behaviour, he was unaware of what condition the child was in apart from the conditions in which the male was the model.
  a second scorer independently rated to check reliability

Question 20

how was the DV operationalised in Banduras study?

Answer 20

The children’s behaviour was observed in 5-second intervals.
it was categorised by imitation, partially imitative behaviour, aggressive gun play, non imitative physical and verbal aggression, non aggressive play and no play at all

Question 21

what were the conclusions?

Answer 21

Observed aggressive behaviours are imitated: children who
see aggressive models are more likely to be more
aggressive than those seeing a non-aggressive model or no
model.
* Observed non-aggressive behaviours are imitated: children
seeing non-aggressive models will be less aggressive than
those seeing no model.
* Children are more likely to copy a same-sex model.
* Boys are more likely to copy aggression than girls.

Question 22

what did bandura find about gun play

Answer 22

Males showed more aggressive gun play compared to females

Question 23

what were the results of banduras study?

Answer 23

Children exposed to aggressive models imitated their exact behaviours and were significantly more aggressive both verbally and physically. One third of the children in the aggressive condition also copied the models non aggressive verbal responses. None of children in control or non aggressive group made such remarks. The mean for physical aggression for boys was much higher (25.8) compared to girls (7.2)
children were more likely to imitate same sex model. children exposed to non aggressive conditions were much less likely to use mallet aggression compared to both aggressive and control group. Girls played more with doll sets, tea sets and colouring whereas boys engaged in more gun play.

Question 24

what were the strengths of banduras study?

Answer 24

Lab experiment means that extraneous variables are easier to control.
Children saw model for the same length of time, in each condition behaviours were standardised increasing reliability.
Inter observer reliability was checked and was very high.
Pre testing/ matched pairs design increased validity.
By using a one way mirror, children were unaware of researcher and less chance of demand characteristics. observation period being in small time frame increases validity and reliability.

Question 25

what were the weaknesses of banduras study?

Answer 25

Only 6 children were used per condition, so small sample. The nursery was based at a university suggesting they all had academically able parents. This may bias the sample, lowering validity. Lab experiment means low ecological validity. The research only looks at short term behaviour. Aggression may have been different if a human was used instead of bobo doll. Children may have shown demand characteristics.ethics