Bandura - Developmental area Flashcards
What do we already know lot about through previous research?
Research has provided convincing evidence for the influence and control exerted by role models on the behaviours of others
What was little known about though?
Little was known about how the behaviour displayed by a model might affect an individual in novel settings when the model is absent
What did the research firstly do to gain more knowledge about something?
- Study exposed children to aggressive and non-aggressive adult models
- Then tested the amount of imitative learning demonstrated by the children in a new situation in the abscene of the model
What is ‘Social learning theory’?
SLT explains behaviour in terms of a continuous interaction between cognitive, behavioural and environmental influences.
According to SLT how are aggressive behaviours learned?
Aggressive behaviours are learned through reinforcement and the imitation of aggressive ‘models’
What is imitation? Define
- Imitation is the reproduction of learning through observation (observational learning)
- involves observing other people who serve as models for behaviour
What is vicarious reinforcement?
Seeing others being rewarded for behaving aggressively i.e not punished
What was the aim of the study?
The aim was to demonstrate that learning can occur through mere observation of a model and that imitation of learned behaviour can occur in the absence of that model
What was the first hypothesis?
1) Children shown aggressive models will show significantly more imitative acts resembling those of their models than those shown non-aggressive or no models
What was the second hypothesis?
2) Children shown non-aggressive, subdued models will show significantly less aggressive behaviour than those shown aggressive or no models
What was the third hypothesis?
3) Boys will show significantly more imitative aggression than girls
What is the final hypothesis?
4) Children will imitate same-sex model behaviour to a greater degree than opposite-sex behaviour
What experimental method was used?
Laboratory experiment
What was the experimental design?
- Independent measures design
- Matched pairs design (matched on their pre-existing aggressiveness levels)
How were participants matched?
Matched through a procedure which pre-rated them for aggressiveness
How were the children rated?
- They were rated on four, five-point rating scales
- Rated by the experimenter and nursery schoolteacher
- Both of them were well acquainted with the children
What did the scales measure?
The scales measured the extent to which participants displayed physical aggression, verbal aggression towards inanimate objects, and aggressive inhibition
What is aggressive inhibition?
Ability to control anger
How were the participants arranged after the scores?
- Participants were arranged in triplets
- Randomly assigned to one of the two experimental groups or the control groups
What were the four possible experimental conditions? (+ control)
- boy + male aggressive/non-aggressive model
- girl + male aggressive/non-aggressive model
- boy + female aggressive/non-aggressive model
- girl + female aggressive/non-aggressive model
control group (no model)
First IV?
Whether the child witnessed an aggressive or a non-aggressive adult model in the first phase of the experiment (c group not exposed to an adult model)
Second IV?
The sex of the model (male or female)
Third IV?
The sex of the child (boy or girl)
DV?
- Amount of imitative behaviour and aggression shown by the child in phase three
- Measured by the model
- Sometimes a second researcher observing each child through a one-way mirror noting down at 5 sec intervals
- Displays of imitative aggressive responses, partially imitative responses and or non-aggressive responses
