Bandura et al Flashcards
Name four theories on which Bandura’s study is based on
1) social learning theory (SLT) explains behaviour in terms of a continuous interaction between cognitive, behavioural and environmental influences.
2) According to SLT, aggressive behaviours are learned through reinforcement (rewards) and the imitation of aggressive ‘models’
3) Imitation is the reproduction of learning through observation (observational learning), and involves observing other people who serve as models for behaviour
4) Bandura et al showed how a child’s aggressive tendencies can be strengthened through vicarious reinforcement (i.e by seeing others being rewarded for behaving aggressively i.e not punished.)
What was the background behind Bandura’s study?
1) Previous research had shown that children will readily imitate behaviour demonstrated by an adult model if the model remains present (Bandura and Hudson, 1961)
2) Although such research has provided convincing evidence for the influence and control exerted by role models on the behaviour of others, until this study, little was known about how the behaviour displayed by a model might affect an individual in novel settings when the model is absent
What was the aim of Bandura’s 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 were the four hypotheses of Bandura’s study?
1) Children shown aggressive models will show significantly more imitative aggressive acts resembling those of their models than those shown non-aggressive or no models.
2) Children shown non-aggressive, subdued models will show significantly less aggressive behaviour than those shown aggressive or no models
3) Boys will show significantly more imitative aggression than girls
4) Children will imitate same-sex model behaviour to a greater degree than opposite-sex behaviour
What was the experimental method used in this study?
Laboratory experiment
What was the experimental design used?
Independent measures, matched pairs design
How was the matched pairs design used in this study?
1) Participants were matched through a procedure which pre-rated them for aggressiveness.
2) They were rated on four, five-point rating scales by the experimenter and a nursery schoolteacher
3) These scales measured the extent to which participants displayed:
- physical aggression
- verbal aggression towards inanimate objects
- aggressive inhibition
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On the basis of the scores the children were rated, how were the participants arranged?
1) Arranged in triplets and randomly assigned to one of the two experimental groups or to the control
What were the experimental conditions the children could be assigned to?
(only participated in either one of the conditions)
- Boy + male aggressive/non-aggressive model
- Boy + female aggressive/non-aggressive model
- Girl + male aggressive/non-aggressive model
- Girl + female aggressive/non-aggressive model
- Control group (no model)
- Control group (no model)
What was the sample?
- 72 children
- 36 boys, 36 girls
- Stanford University Nursery School
Describe phase one of the procedure
1) Children in the experimental conditions were individually taken into a room and sat at a table to play with potato prints and picture stickers for 10 minutes whilst:
- The aggressive model began assembling a tinker toy but after about a minute turned to a Bobo doll and spent the remainder of the period physically and verbally aggressing it using a standardised procedure (script)
- The non-aggressive model assembled the tinker toys in a quiet subdued manner, totally ignoring the Bobo doll
- Control group did not participate in phase 1
Describe phase two of the procedure
1) All of the children were taken individually to another room and subjected to mild aggression arousal
2) Initially, they were allowed to play with some very attractive toys but after about two minutes the experimenter took the toys away saying they were reserved for other children.
3) Told they could play with any toys in the next room
Describe phase three of the study
1) Children were then taken individually into a third room which contained both aggressive and non-aggressive toys
- 3ft High Bobo Doll
- Mallet
- Dart guns
- Tea set
- Cars
- Dolls
2) They were observed through a one-way mirror for 20 minutes whilst observers recorded behaviour
3) Inter-rater reliabilities of 0.90 product-moment coefficients in the following categories:
- Imitative aggression (physical, verbal and non-aggressive speech)
- Partially imitative aggression
- Non-imitative physical and verbal aggression
- Non- Aggressive behaviour
4) Time sampling- observations of behaviour every 5 seconds
Give three findings from Bandura’s study
1) Children in the aggressive condition showed more imitation of physical and verbal aggressive behaviour and non-aggressive verbal responses than children in the non-aggressive or control conditions
2) Children in the non-aggressive condition showed very little aggression, although results were not always significantly less than the control group
3) The behaviour of the male model exerted greater influence than the female model
Give three possible conclusions from Bandura’s study
1) Children will imitate aggressive/non-aggressive behaviours displayed by adult models, even if the model is not present
2) Children can learn behaviour through observation and imitation
3) Behaviour modelled by male adults has a greater influence on children’s behaviour than behaviour modelled by a female adult
