bandura 1965 study Flashcards
aim
to consider whether reinforcement and punishment of an aggressive model would influence the aggression displayed by observers in response to frustration
sample and research method
laboratory experiment using an independent groups design
33 boys and 33 girls who were aged 42-71 months old and selected from the Stanford university nursery in California
independent variable
the observed consequence for the model
dependent variable
aggression in the children
procedure
- the children were randomly allocated to one of the three conditions, all of which involved watching a film of an adult aggressing towards a Bobo doll:
* model-reward condition - children saw a second adult praise the model for their aggression and give them a drink and chocolate
* model-punished condition - second adult scolded the model and spanked them with a rolled up magazine
* no-consequence condition - model was neither reinforced nor punished - after viewing one of the films, the children were deliberately frustrated and taken into a playroom
- all three groups were later offerred attractive rewards to aggress towards the doll
findings
children in the model-punished condition were significantly less aggressive than the other two groups
however, introducing the promise of a reward wiped out the difference, increasing the scores significantly or all the groups
conclusions
vicarious punishment reduces imitated aggression
however, the promise of reinforcement is a more powerful influence on aggression
strength - control of extraneous variables
one strength of Bandura’s 1963 study is the controls used to reduce the impact of extraneous variables
children taking part in each condition were matched for aggression, reducing the impact of individual differences in aggression, a potential extraneous participant variable
the non-aggressive conditions allowed researchers to control for spontaneous aggression
observing the children one at a time controlled the possibility that a child may imitate the behaviour of another child
therefore, this means that we can be sure that the observed aggression was the result of imitation of the aggressive model, enhancing the internal validity of the study
strength - inter-rater reliability
one strength of Bandura’s 1965 study was that there was inter-rater reliability when rating the children’s aggression levels before the study began
when the children were being placed into the groups, the experimenter and the children’s teacher rated each child in terms of aggression levels, both the teacher and experimenter conferred over the values they gave to the children
this gives the study a good level of reliability because in order for the children to be placed in the experimental groups, they had to be rated by more than one person to ensure aggression levels were the same in each group
therefore, this means that we can be certain that the groups both had equal levels of aggression because they were rated by two people who had to agree in order for them to be placed into an experimental group
weakness of sample
one weakness of Bandura’s 1963 study is that the sample of children aged 39-52 months that was used were all young and from the same nursery
this means that the sample may not be representative of other young children who do not come from this nursery because the children from Stanford University nursery are extremely well behaved so will copy the role model as this is what they have been taught to do
therefore, this means that the findings may be unrepresentative of children in the wider population and unable to be generalised to people of different ages and who did not go to Stanford University nursery
strength - control of extraneous variables
one strength of Bandura’s 1963 study is the controls used to reduce the impact of extraneous variables
children taking part in each condition were matched for aggression, reducing the impact of individual differences in aggression, a potential extraneous participant variable
the non-aggressive conditions allowed researchers to control for spontaneous aggression
observing the children one at a time controlled the possibility that a child may imitate the behaviour of another child
therefore, this means that we can be sure that the observed aggression was the result of imitation of the aggressive model, enhancing the internal validity of the study
counter argument to control of extraneous variables
However, Bandura’s research only showed short-term effects, and also aggression was shown towards a doll
therefore, there is some concern that, despite the clever design, the findings do not necessarily explain aggressive behaviour in everyday life
strength - application of findings
one strength of Bandura’s study is that it has informed the development of the Sabido method
Bandura and Sabido pioneered the use of telenovelas (like a soap opera) to tackle specific social problems in countries all over the world
viewers identify with the popular characters who become role models
research has shown that these serials have been highly effective in prompting behavioural change, e.g., increasing contraception use or the take-up of literacy classes
therefore, this demonstrates the significant contribution of Bandura’s development of social learning theory in promoting behaviours which are of benefit to individuals and also to wider society
weakness - risk of demand characteristics
one weakness of Bandura’s 1963 study is that elements of the procedure could have cued children as to how they were expected to behave
Noble (1975) reported that one child arriving at the laboratory for the experiment said, ‘Look Mummy, there is the doll we have to hit’
this suggests that the children may have believed that they were expected to aggress towards the doll - why else would the adult have modelled aggression towards the doll then left them with one?
therefore, this means that the experimental procedures may lack validity - we cannot be sure to what extent the results reflect learning and to what extent they are affected by demand characteristics
