bandura (aggression)

Question 1

results regarding complete imitation of behaviour

Answer 1

1. aggressive condition: good resemblance in physical and verbal aggression, control and nonaggressive group no imitative behaviour
   70% in both other groups had 0 scores, friedman 2 way analysis to obtain significance of these differences
2. prediction that exposure to aggressive models increases aggression confirmed.
3. comparison of pairs shows that differences almost entirely due to exposure to aggressive models
4. aggressive group (about one third) children imitated veral aggression which other 2 groups did not

Question 2

data for imitative physical aggression
and verbal aggression

Answer 2

imitative physical aggression in
aggressive group
female s, female m 5.5
v-13.7
male s female m 12.4
v-4.3
female s male s 7.2
v-2.0
male s male m 25.8
12.7
non aggressive group
female s female m 2.5
0.3
male s female m 0.2
1.1
female s male m 0
0
male s male m 1.5
0
control f 1.2 m 2.0
v-f 0.7 m 1.7

Question 3

results on partial imitation of models behaviour

Answer 3

1. in mallet aggression(other than on bobo doll), treatment conditions showed statistical difference

mallet aggression
aggressive group
female s female m 17.2
male s female m 15.5
female s male m 18.7
male s male m 28.8

non aggressive group
female s female m 0.5
male s female s 18.7
female s male m 0.5
male s male m 6.7

control f 13.1
m 13.5

2. individual sign tests show that aggressive and control showed more aggression than non aggressive group especially in females
3. although aggressive condition performed more mallet aggression than control, difference not statistically different

Question 4

results in non imitative aggression

Answer 4

1. analysis of variance shows that treatment condition did not affect extent of gun play , or bobo punching

however treatment condition significant in nonimitative verbal and physical aggression in aggressive and non aggressive groups

aggressive gun play
aggressive group
female s female m 1.8
male s female m 7.3
female s male m 4.5
male s male m 15.9

no aggressive
female s female m 2.6
male s female m 8.9
female s male m 2.5
male s male m 16.7

control f 3.7
control m 14.3

non imitative aggression
aggressive group

non aggressive group
female s female m 7.2
male s female m 1.4
female s male m 26.1
male s male m 22.3

control f 6.1
control m 24.6

Question 5

influence of sex of sample and sex of model results

Answer 5

1. hypothesis that boys that show more aggression than girls partially confirmed
   aggressive group boys showed more imitative physical aggression butgirls and boys showed similar imitative verbal aggression
2. subjects in aggressive condition show the possibility of sexXmodel interaction more. more consistent and pronounced in male model than female model
   male subjects showed more physical, verbal, non imitative, mallet and gun aggression following exposure to male model than female subjects
   in contrast female subjects showed more imitative verbal aggression and more non imitative aggression that boys
3. non aggressive and control provide further evidence that male model has greater influence that female model on subjects behaviour
4. except for greater aggression in mallet aggression in control than non aggressive no significant differences
   subjects exposed to female model did now show any aggression different than male model
   but male model has striking differences

males in non aggressive group performed less imitative aggression verbal and physical
lesser mallet, non imitative and, less likely to punch bobo than control

4. although subgroup result non statistically relevant could be chance still supports interpretations in terms of influence by the model

Question 6

non aggressive behaviour results

Answer 6

1. with the exception of expected sex differences non aggressive scores yielded few significant differences
2. females played more with boys than dolls, tea set, cooking
   boys more devoted to exploratory play with guns
3. subjects in non aggressive engaged more in non aggressive doll play than with subjects in control or aggressive
4. subjects in non aggressive condition spent twice the time not engaging with materials at all and simply sitting quietly

Question 7

psychology being investigated

Answer 7

social learning theory
proposes that people choose to imitate behaviour of other people, especially those they admire, they may be powerful attractive or popular, initially an individual pays close attention to behaviour, retains it in their memory, and reproduces it.
social learning can be observational or vicarious
delayed imitation is when behaviour is reproduced at a later point in time.

aggression: verbal or physical behaviour where there is intention to harm either a person or an object, it is usually forceful or hostile

Question 8

aims

Answer 8

1. to investigate whether children imitate aggression of models when models are not present
2. to investigate if children imitate same sex model more than opposite sex model

Question 8

hypotheses 4

Answer 8

1. children exposed to aggressive models would reproduce aggressive behaviour is the absence of the model, and in this aspect they would differ from the 2 other groups
2. exposure to subdued non aggressive models would have a generalised inhibiting effect on the subsequent behaviour this would differ from no model condition where the latter would show more aggression
3. subjects would be expected to imitate same sex model more than opposite sex
4. boys are more predisposed to aggression than girls, difference most marked for boys with male aggressive models

Question 8

sample

Answer 8

36 boys and 36 girls, 72 children from stanford university nursery

37 to 69 months mean age 52

two models, male and female

Question 8

research methodology

Answer 8

independent measures design and matched participants in triplets

Question 8

why was arousal of aggression required

Answer 8

1. because aggression exhibited by others reduces tends to reduce probability of aggression in observer
   consequently subjects in aggressive condition would be under weaker instigation
2. if subjects in non aggressive condition showed little aggression presence of inhibitory process would be indicated

Question 8

procedure part 1

Answer 8

subjects brought individually into room, seated in the corner, model invited in, experimenter demonstrated potato print an sticker usage multicolour stickers to be pasted on pastoral scene- high interest activity for children

experimenter on opposite corner had a small table and chair, a tinker toy set, a mallet, and a 5 foot inflated bobo doll

in non aggressive condition, model quietly ignored bobo doll and worked on assembling tinker toys

aggressive condition
after a minute of assembling tinker toys, model showed aggression to bobo doll

Question 9

describe aggressive acts of model

Answer 9

(punching is likely to performed naturally and it cannot be said is imitated, model performed distinct acts to count as imitative aggression.

san on bobo doll side and punched its nose, struck its head with a mallet
tossed in the air, kicked about in the room

verbal aggression- sock him in the nose, hit him down, throw him in the air, kick him, pow

non aggressive verbal-he sure is a tough fella, he keeps coming back for more

Question 9

how were children matched

Answer 9

students rated on 5 point scale measuring physical aggression, verbal aggression, aggression towards inanimate objects and aggressive inhibition

rated by children’s teachers and and experimenter independently, on a correlational study it scored 0.89 showing high inter rater reliability

subjects matched on similar aggression levels and randomly assigned into 2 groups and control

Question 9

part 2 of procedure

Answer 9

aggression arousal

tested for imitative aggression in a different experimental room that was off the main building, experimental situations were thus clearly differentiated

all children were subject to aggression arousal, to ensure they were under same degree of instigation

Question 9

describe the process of aggression arousal

Answer 9

experimenter brought children to anteroom with attractive toys, fire engine, locomotive, doll set with complete wardrobe, crib

as soon as children became sufficiently engaged in playing about 2 min, experimenter said that these were her very best toys that were reserved for other children

enter adjoining room, experimenter remained in that room quietly doing paperwork

Question 9

part 3 of procedure

Answer 9

experimental room had toys included 3 foot bobo doll, mallet. peg board, drat guns, tether ball
tea set, crayons and paper, vehicles and plastic animals
arranged in fixed order
20 min in the room

Question 9

describe rating of behaviour

Answer 9

behaviour rated in pre determined response categories by judges observing session through one way mirror

20 minute sessions divided into 5 second intervals with means of electric interval timer yielding total 240 responses for each participant

male model scored all 72 children half subjects also scored by independent observer for inter rater reliability high reliability correlation coefficient in .90s

one of 2 observers had no knowledge of the condition children were in.

Question 10

response measures
measures of imitation, partial imitation, and non imitation aggression

Answer 10

imitated behaviour
1. imitative physical aggression
striking bobo doll with mallet, sitting on it, punching nose, kicking it in the air.
2. imitative verbal aggression
sock him, kick him, pow, hit him down
3. imitative verbal non aggressive behaviour
he sure is a tough fella, he keeps coming back for more

partial imitation
1. strikes objects other than bobo doll with mallet
2. sits on bobo dollbut does not hit it

additional non imitative aggression
punches, slaps, strikes bobo doll
nonimitative physical and verbal- aggressive acts directed to other objects, hostile remarks, cut him, shoot the bobo, stupid ball
aggressive gun play-

Question 11

conclusions

Answer 11

1. observing an aggressive model can lead to imitative aggression
2. boys are more likely to imitate same sex models than girls
3. boys are more likely to imitate physically aggressive than girls , girls are slightly more likely to imitate verbal aggression
4. behaviour of male models is more likely to be imitated then behaviour of female models

Question 12

strengths of bandura

Answer 12

1. standardisation
   layout of toys, duration of trial, behavioural checklist, consistency makes the findings more reliable
2. inter observer reliability
   high 0.90, 2 independent observers on correlation
3. strong inter rater reliability
   experimenter and nursery teacher had similar scores, 0.89
   consistent rating on aggression scale
4. matched aggression scores- validity
   matched on prior aggression levels on 5 point scale for 4 criterions. this reduced impact of individual differences
5. qualitative data, allowing objective comparison of independent variables
   number of aggressive acts based on checklist
6. single blind increased objectivity
   main observer did not know which condition the children were in except for the one he modeled
   similarities and differences between female conditions was not due to observer bias

Question 13

weaknesses of bandura

Answer 13

1. psychological harm
   one third participants exposed to aggressive models, since reproduction of behaviour was after delay it was likely that children continues to demonstrate aggression. they cpuld have lasting aggressive mind state at home
2. 2 stooges
   only one male and one female stooge, could be that children imitated due to some specific feature other than sex. this confounding variable could effect validity
3. inside information
   main observer had been male model, could have been more subjective or biased in rating of children in his condition, reduces validity
4. not generalisable to lower socioeconomic backgrounds
   nursery had kids of staffa dn students
   particularly educated parents that do not represent typical population
   may have been more or less likely to imitate behaviour
5. generalising to everyday life
   lacks mundane realism as it was an unusual set up, very rare adult will attack an toy and children will have opportunity to imitate this behaviour
   bobo doll is designed to be hit, hitting the bobo doll may not represent true level of aggression in real life with real people

Question 14

issues and debates

Answer 14

use of children in psychological research
children of 37 to 69 months particularly vulnerable to demand characteristics
children may believe adult expect them to imitate behaviour this would cause issues with validity
their sensitive age also raises ethical concerns

Question 15

applications to everyday life

Answer 15

television warnings
both and physical and aggressive behaviour imitated by children , important for televison to censor or warn for violent content. childrens shows should have non aggressive characters

parents
children likey to imitate same sex and male, and less likely to be aggressive in non aggressive parents can be good role models