Bandura

Question 1

Define social learning theory

Answer 1

The theory claims that people learn by observing other people, particularly those they look up to (their role models).

After observing, people then imitates the model’s behaviour, even in other contexts when the model is no longer present.

Question 2

What is the background of the study?

Answer 2

1. Children readily imitate an adult model’s behaviour in the presence of that model
2. Parents tend to reward gender appropriate behaviours.

Question 3

Why was the study carried out?

Answer 3

1. No evidence of whether the children will generalise their imitative responses to new situation, so now wanted to investigate
2. Now wanted to investigate whether there is a greater degree of imitative learning from a same-sex model rather than opposite sex

Question 4

What is the aim of the study?

Answer 4

To investigate whether a child would learn aggression by observing a model and would reproduce this behaviour in the absence of the model, and whether the sex of role model was important

Question 5

What are the 4 hypotheses?

Answer 5

1. observed aggressive behaviour will be imitated so children seeing aggressive models will be more aggressive compared to control group

(controlled group more aggressive than non-aggressive group)

2. children seeing non aggressive role models will be less aggressive
3. children will be likely to copy same-sex model
4. boys will be more likely to copy aggression

Question 6

Define Generalised inhibiting effect

Answer 6

calm effect on behaviour expected to be observed in children in non-aggressive model condition.

Question 7

What is the type of experiment?

Answer 7

Laboratory experiment

Question 8

How did Bandura collect the data?

Answer 8

Time sampling, controlled structured observation

Question 9

What is the sampling technique?`

Answer 9

not specified, but likely opportunity sample

Question 10

How many participants and models? age?

Answer 10

36 boys, 36 girls, aged 37 to 69 month

2 adult models, 1 male, 1 female

Question 11

What is the experimental design?

Answer 11

independent groups AND matched participants

Question 12

3 IVs

Answer 12

- Model type
aggressive / non aggressive / no model
- Gender of model
male / female
- Gender of child
male/female

Question 13

DV

Answer 13

The learning demonstrated by the child.

Specifically, imitative and non-imitative verbal and physical aggressive behaviour.

Question 14

Describe the participants in experiment group 1 and group 2

Answer 14

AGGRESSIVE MODEL
24 participants, 12 boys 12 girls
4 groups
Male model with 6 boys
Male model with 6 girls
Female model with 6 boys
Female model with 6 boys

Group 2 = NON AGGRESSIVE
everything same

Question 15

How did they match the participants, and how did they assign participants to each condition?

Answer 15

1. All children were rated on 5 point scales for
   - verbal and physical aggression
   - aggression towards inanimate objects
   - aggression anxiety

by the experimenter and a nursery teacher.

2. They were organised into triplets, who would all have the SAME aggression score
3. Each member of the triplet was allocated to a different condition of the IV - or the control

Question 16

Was the inter-rater reliability high?

Answer 16

Inter-rater reliability was checked for ratings from 51 children, it was high at 0.9, which is a very strong correlation.

Question 17

What is the experimental condition for room 1? (briefly describe)

Answer 17

EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION
pps brought into experimental room
model invited
10 minutes, children leaves

Question 18

What are at two corners of the room in room 1?

Answer 18

One corner:

• child’s play area
• small table, chair
• picture stickers

The other corner:

• small table, chair
• tinker-toy set
• mallet
• 5 foot bobo doll

Question 19

What did the aggressive model do?

Answer 19

• assembled toy for 1 minute
• turned to bobo doll
• sit on doll and punch on nose
• hits bobo with mallet
• throw in air

Question 20

What did the non aggressive model do?

Answer 20

model quietly assembled tinker-toy (gentle manner), ignoring the bobo

Question 21

What is the experimental condition for room 2? (briefly describe)

Answer 21

AGGRESSION AROUSAL

2 rooms with relatively attractive toys
- a fire engine, train, doll set

Question 22

What happened when the children started to play in room 2?

Answer 22

As soon as the children started to play with the toys, the experimenter told the child that these were the experimenter’s very best toys and had to reserve for the other children. However, the subject could play with any of the toys that were in the next room.

Question 23

Why in room 2 experimenter stopped the children from playing?

Answer 23

This stage was included to ensure that all participants were under some degree of instigation to aggression

Question 24

Why need to put children under some degree of instigation to aggression? (2 reasons)

Answer 24

whether observation of a non-aggressive model had an inhibitory effect when these children were put into a situation that would instigate aggression

research suggests observing an aggressive model reduces the likelihood of aggression, which means children who observed aggressive model may be in a lesser state to instigation aggression than others.

Question 25

What is the experimental condition for room 3? (briefly describe)

Answer 25

TEST FOR DELAYED IMITATION
children were told they could play with any toys
- some are aggressive, : 3-foot bobo doll, mallet, tether ball with a face painted on it which hung from the ceiling
- non aggressive: tea set, crayons

• stayed for 20 mins

Question 26

Where did the researcher stay in room 3?

Answer 26

experimenter stayed in room, did paper work in the corner, no communication with child

Question 27

Why did the researcher stay in the room?

Answer 27

stayed because some children refuse to stay alone, or leave before the session ends

Question 28

How and what the observer observe in room 3?

Answer 28

a record was made by observer, 5 sec = 240 instances recorded per child

ALL 72 children scored by one male researcher, and half scored also by another researcher to check inter-rater reliability

Question 29

Examples for imitative,( physical and verbal aggression, and verbal non-aggression)

Answer 29

• punch the doll in the nose
• “Pow!” / “sock him!”
• “he keeps coming back for more”

Question 30

Examples for partially imitative (mallet aggression, sit on bobo)

Answer 30

• strikes toy with mallet rather than Bobo

- sits on it but not aggressive towards it

Question 31

Examples for non-imitative behaviour

Answer 31

Punches bobo
- strikes, slaps or pushes the doll aggressively

Physical and verbal aggression

• “shoot the bobo!”
• “stupid ball”

aggressive gun play
- shoots darts at objects in the room

non-aggressive play
- does colouring

No play
- sits quietly, not playing

Question 32

4 conclusions of the study

Answer 32

• watching an aggressive model can produce aggression
• boys are more likely to copy same gender models
• boys are more likely to copy physical aggressive behaviour than girls
• aggression from male models is more likely to be copied than female models

Question 33

What is a problem if children of different ages were used?

Answer 33

• more exposure to ‘pre existing aggression’
• so more aggressive even without model
• high moral
• less affected by aggressive model

Question 34

How is subject divided into groups?

Answer 34

• 8 groups of 6 subjects each, and a control group with 24 subjects

Question 35

What did they do to eliminate variation in behaviour due to mere placement of the toys?

Answer 35

The play material in the test for delayed aggression was arranged in a fixed order for each of the sessions.

Question 36

What is considered as partially imitated behaviour?

Answer 36

• imitated essential components of the model’s behaviour, but did not perform the complete act
• or they directed the imitative aggressive response to some object other than the bobo doll