bandura (1961) Flashcards
state the 3 aims
- investigate whether children would copy an adult’s behaviour to a bobo doll
- investigate whether children would be more likely to imitate a same sex role model
- investigate whether boys are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour than girls
describe the sample
72
male and female
average age 4
matched pairs
state the 3 conditions
control
aggressive model
non aggressive model
state the 3 IVs
gender of role model
gender of child
condition
state the 2 DVs
number of physically aggressive acts
number of verbally aggressive acts
describe the procedure
- child in opposite corner of room to RM and doll
- aggressive condition = hit doll and said words like ‘pow’
- non aggressive = ignored doll
- child taken to next toy room and told they could not play with toys (eliminates mild aggression arousal)
- child put in room with bobo doll and observed at 5 sec intervals
describe the results
- boys imitated more aggression (25.8 of actions compared to 5.5)
- girls copied more verbal acts
- children exposed to aggressive condition copied more aggressive acts
what is a weakness of the study (PEE)?
- generalisability
a weakness of the study is that it lacks generalisability. this is because the sample only consisted of 72 boys and girls between the ages of 3 and 6. therefore, the findings cannot be representative of how adults observe and reproduce behaviour of their role models due to being significantly different in context to the role models of children.
what is a strength of the study (PEEIA)?
- reliability
a strength of the study is that it has high reliability. for example, there were standardised procedures such as observing all the children at 5 second intervals for 20 minutes. all children experienced the toy room that they could not play in to eliminate mild aggression arousal. therefore, the study can be easily replicated to check for consistency. in addition, there is high inter rater reliability. this is because, it included 2 observers who agreed 89% of the time. therefore, this removes subjectivity, making the results objective.
what is a strength of the study (PEE)?
- application
a strength of the study is that it has applications. for example, it highlights how children will imitate the behaviour of role models. therefore, this can help parenting by behaving around a child they way you would want them to behave; such as not shouting at them for doing something wrong as they will likely shout back.
what is a weakness of the study (PEEIA)?
- validity
a weakness of the study is that it lacks internal validity. for example, a bobo doll is an unusual toy which was unfamiliar to the children and this may have initiated aggressive play. due to this third variable, cause and effect cannot be easily established as the children might have thought that was how you were supposed to use the doll. in addition, it lacks ecological validity. for example, the research was carried out in an artificial environment where the model and child were strangers. therefore, this cannot reflect how a child would behave in real life.
what is a weakness of the study (PEE)?
- ethics
a weakness of the study is that there are ethical issues. for example, the children were deliberately encouraged to be aggressive with no talk of removing that aggression. therefore, children may have been aggressive after the study as there was no pro social model of how to calm down.
