Bandura (1963) - Filmed Role Models Bobo Doll Replication Flashcards
What was the aim of Bandura’s 1963 study?
To investigate if children were more or less aggressive when observing; a real-life role model, a role model in film, or a cartoon role model
What is the methodology of Bandura’s 1963 study? (4 points)
Design: Matched-pairs design for pre-tests for initial aggressive behaviours
Participants: 96 children mean age of 52 months - 48 boys and 48 girls enrolled at Stanford University Nursery School
12 boys and 12 girls in each of 4 conditions:
+ No model
+ Live model
+ Film of a model
+ Cartoon model
In each group, 6 people watched a same-sex role model, whereas 6 watched an opposite-sex role model
What was the procedure of Stage 1 of Bandura’s 1963 study? (3 points)
For 10 minutes, participants watched the model raise the Bobo doll and pummel it on the head with a mallet
Following the mallet aggression, the model tossed the doll up in the air aggressively and kicked it about the room
This sequence of physically aggressive acts was repeated approximately 3 times - interspersed with verbally aggressive responses such as, “Sock him in the nose…,” “Hit him down …,”.
What was the procedure for Stages 2 and 3 of Bandura’s 1963 study? (3 points)
Pps were taken to a different experimental room and told by the experimenter that they could not play with the toys
Then, ach child was taken to a test room to play with toys for 20 minutes
2 investigators observed aggressive through a one-way mirror and undertook time sampling
What were the results and conclusions of Bandura’s 1963 study? (4 points)
Cartoon model: 99
Filmed model: 92
Live model: 83
No model: 54
No significant difference between observing models in different mediums but all three express significantly more aggressive behaviours than the control group
Conclusions:
+ Observations of aggressive role models increase the aggressive behaviours displayed by the children
+ Children will imitate filmed aggression in the same way as live aggressive role models.
How generalisable is Bandura’s 1963 study? (3 points)
Bandura’s original Bobo doll study does not use a fully representative participant sample
Although Bandura has included equal numbers of boys and girls, the age range is not representative of adolescents or adults
Ethnocentric - the 96 children were likely raised in affluent socio-economic backgrounds from a Western, individualistic culture which values autonomy
How reliable is Bandura’s 1963 study? (4 points)
Standardised experimental procedure can be replicated by other researchers for reliability
Same:
+ Standardised script read-aloud for each condition
+ Male and female role models used
+ Systematic timings (repeating aggressive acts 3 times for a total of 10 minutes)
2 judges independently rating each child at 5-second intervals for imitative and non-imitative aggressive behaviour (A01) increases the inter-rater reliability
The results are not reliant on the subjective opinion of only 1 researcher
How applicable to real life is Bandura’s 1963 study? (3 points)
The conclusions realised by Bandura have real-life applications for children’s learning
Conclusion: children will imitate filmed aggression in the same way as live aggressive role models
Findings could provide evidence for the observation and imitation of celebrity role models in society, resulting in a higher prevalence of eating disorders like AN in the Western World
How internally valid is Bandura’s 1963 study? (4 points)
Bandura has accounted for individual differences with his use of a matched-pairs design
Matched the 96 children for age, gender and pre-tests for initial aggressive behaviours, by using a 5-point scale for verbal and physical aggression shown in the nursery
Accounts for participant variables, which could have influenced the observed aggressive behaviours
Increased internal validity - a causal relationship between observation of role models and imitation of aggressive behaviours can be established
How ecologically valid is Bandura’s 1963 study? (4 points)
Bandura’s laboratory-based study has low ecological validity - artificial laboratory environment was set up at Stanford University Nursery School
Despite the children being familiar with the nursery school, this was not their normal classroom setting
Bobo doll was a toy that the children had never seen before, their behaviour is subject to demand characteristics
The children may have imitated a behaviour they believed was expected of them, rather than feeling aggressive
How ethical is Bandura’s 1963 study? (3 points)
Despite Bandura gaining presumptive consent from parents on behalf of the children, the children were still distressed and exposed to physical and verbal abuse, which could have manifested as a long-term behavioural disorder
There is limited evidence that an attempt was made to debrief the children about the purpose of the study
Could be argued that Bandura’s study has been beneficial to the scientific community and for society to understand the impact of celebrities and media on children’s learning
