Bandura research

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

To investigate whether aggression can be learned through social learning theory principles.

Question 2

Method

Answer 2

72 children (36 male and 36 female) aged between 3 and 6 years old were put into one of three groups for 10 minutes:

Question 3

1) Aggressive model (see below).

Answer 3

The child played in a room while an adult hit and shouted at a “Bobo doll”.

This group was further sub-divided by the gender of the child and the
adult model, creating four conditions (see below).

Question 4

2) Non-aggressive model

Answer 4

The child played in a room while an adult played quietly with a construction set. This group was
further sub-divided once again by the gender of the child and the adult model, creating another four conditions

Question 5

3) Control group

Answer 5

The child did not see a model.

Question 6

4

Answer 6

The children were deliberately frustrated by being taken into another room where they were told that they could not play with any toys.

Then, they were placed alone in a room with a range of aggressive toys (mallet, gun) and non-aggressive toys (dolls, crayons) and the Bobo doll for twenty minutes whilst being observed.

Question 7

Results

Answer 7

Children who saw the aggressive model produced more aggressive acts than those in either of the other two groups.
Boys imitated same-sex models more than girls. Girls imitated more physical aggression if they saw male models, and more
verbal aggression if they saw female models.

Question 8

Conclusion

Answer 8

Aggressive behaviour can be learned, in children, through observation and imitation of a model.