Bandura (1961)- Bobo Doll Flashcards
Introduction - Brief Summary
- Conducted controlled experimental study
- To investigate if social behaviours (i.e. aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation
- Tested 36 boys and 36 girls from Stanford University Nursery School, ages ranging between 3 to 6
- Children were matched based on their scores
- To test the inter-rater reliability of the observers, 51 children were rated by two observers independently before being compared
- The ratings showed a high reliability correlation, suggested that the observers had a good agreement about the behaviour of the children
Aim
To investigate if social behaviours (i.e.aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation
Age and group being studied
36 boys and girls, aging between 3 to 6. They were from the Stanford University Nursery School
Type of Experimental Study
Controlled
How did they test inter-rater reliability?
51 children were observed by 2 observers independently before having their ratings compared
What was the inter-rater reliability results?
Showed high reliability correlation, suggesting that the observers had a good agreement about the behaviour of the children
3 Conditions of exposure
- Shown an aggressive model
- Shown a non-aggressive model
- No model shown (control)
Beginning
Each child was individually placed in a room containing toys for 10 mins
‘Mild Aggression Arousal’
The children, after haven shown their respected videos, were placed in a room with toys but when they began playing with the toys an experimenter would tell them that the toys were precious and reserved for another child
Findings
> Children who observed the aggressive model imitated more aggressive behaviours than the other groups
There were more partial and non-imitative aggression amongst the children who observed aggressive behaviours
The girls in the aggressive model condition had also more physical aggressive response if the model was male, more verbal aggressive response if the model was female
Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls
Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls
Conclusion
He concluded that children learn social behaviour, such as aggression, through observable learning - watching the behaviour of another person
{Support]: Experimental method
- Able to establish a cause and effect relationship
- Therefore the model did influence the child’s subsequent behaviour as all the other variables were controlled
- Allows for replication
- Bandura 1985 had found similar results
{Limitation}: Ecological validity
- Lab studies tend to have low ecological validity
{Limitation]: Cumberbatch (1990)
- Found that children who had not played with a bobo doll before the age of 5 were 5 times more likely to imitate the aggressive behaviours
- He claims that the novelty value of the doll makes it more likely that children will imitate the behaviour
