Bandura et al- Transmission of aggression through imitation Flashcards
What is social learning theory
Banduras was interested in examining social learning theory which is the belief that we are able to learn through observation and imitation of a role model who we identify with.
Previous research done by Banduras and Hudson
Previous research done by Banduras and Hudson found that children will readily initiate behaviour demonstrated by an adult role model if the role model remains in the situation.
How this influenced Banduras to research the influence of role models further, when the model is absent.
This prior research failed to assess how the behaviour which has been displayed by a model can affect the individual on the absence of that specific model. Banduras wanted to assess the experimentally to see if the level of aggression imitated by children was due to absence of the model.
Researchers Aim
To demonstrate that learning can occur through mere observation of learned behaviour can occur in the absence of a model
Hypothesis
-Children shown aggressive models will show significantly more imitative aggressive acts resembling those of their models than those shown non aggressive or no models.
-Boys will show more imitative aggression than girls
-Children with imitate same sex model behaviour to a greater degree than opposite sex behaviour.
Research method
Laboratory experiment using a matched participants and independent measures
Observation to collect data for aggressive models
Independent variables
-Sex of the child (male/female)
-Sex of the model (male/female)
-The behaviour of the model children were exposed to (aggressive/non aggressive)
Dependant variable
The level of aggressive behaviour shown by children when observed in room 3
Sample
Children attending Stanford University Nursery school.
72 children in total aged 3-5
Sampling method
Opportunity sample- children who are readily available, no mention of parental consent.
Matching procedure (1)
For a control, children were pre rated for their levels of aggression by their nursery teacher, and the female experimenter who observed them in the playground rated aggression on a 5-point-scale
Matching participants (2)
4 scales: physical aggression, verbal aggression, aggression towards inanimate objects and aggression inhibition
Matching participants (3)
Children were arranged into triplets and assigned at random to the three different model conditions.
Phase 1: Role Model
Children in the control condition didn’t experience the first phase.
Other conditions left into a room with toys and the Bobo doll. After one minute in the room, the role model turned to the bobo doll and was aggressive or non aggressive to the bobo doll for the rest of the time.
This routine was repeated three times.
Phase 2: Arousal
All 72 children were in this room with attractive toys such as a colourful spinner top.
The experimenter explained the toys were for the children to play with but after the child began to play with the toys for two minutes, the toys were taken away.
