bandura Flashcards
What was the aim of the study?
To investigate whether a child would learn aggression by observing a model and would reproduce this behaviour in the absence of the model.
What are the two kinds of differences suggested by Bandura due to encouragement or discouragement of behaviours?
- Boys and girls should be more likely to imitate same-sex models
- They should differ in their readiness to imitate aggression
What is the definition of ‘facilitation’ in the context of children’s behavior?
Facilitation of behaviour is when a child is more likely to do what they see being done.
Fill in the blank: Observed aggressive behaviour will be ______, so children seeing aggressive models will be more aggressive than those seeing a non-aggressive model or no model.
[imitated]
What were the independent variables (IVs) in the study?
- Model type: aggressive or non-aggressive
- Model gender: same gender as child or not
- Learner gender: whether the child was a boy or girl
What was the dependent variable (DV) in the study?
The learning of the child displayed through controlled observation.
True or False: Children were punished explicitly for sex-inappropriate behaviours during the study.
False
What age range were the children participating in the study?
3 - 6 years
What method was used for the experiment?
Lab experiment with an independent measures design.
What was the purpose of mildly annoying the children at the beginning of the study?
To ensure that even the non-aggressive condition and control participants would be likely to express aggression.
What actions did the aggressive model perform with the bobo doll?
- Laid the doll on its side
- Sat on and punched the doll
- Hit the doll with a mallet
- Tossed the doll in the air
- Kicked the doll
What were the three response measures of the children’s imitation?
- Imitation of physical aggression
- Imitative verbal aggression
- Imitative non-aggressive verbal responses
What were the results regarding boys’ and girls’ imitation of aggression?
- Boys were more likely to imitate physical aggression
- Girls were more likely to imitate verbal aggression (though not significantly)
Fill in the blank: Children seeing a non-aggressive model were much less likely to exhibit ______ aggression.
[mallet]
What did the remarks about aggressive models reveal?
Differences between the reactions to the actions of both male and female models and between both boys and girls.
What were the strengths of the study?
- High level of control for extraneous variables
- Highly standardized process
- High validity
- High reliability
- Pre-testing ensured comparable aggression levels
What were the weaknesses of the study?
- Only 6 children per experimental condition
- Limited generalizability due to possible biased sample
- Some qualitative data was subjective
- No follow-up of the children
What conclusion can be drawn from the study’s results?
Observation and imitation can account for the learning of specific acts without reinforcement of either the model or observer.
