Bandura's Research (approaches | LA: Social Learning Theory) Flashcards
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate
social learning theory (SLT) in terms of whether children would imitate an aggressive role model
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory (SLT) in terms of whether children would imitate an aggressive role model, aims:
- to investigate the effect of observed aggression on children’s behaviour
- to investigate the effect of same-sex modelling on children’s aggressive behaviour
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory (SLT) in terms of whether children would imitate an aggressive role model, procedure:
- 72 participants took part in the study
- 36 girls
- 36 boys
- aged between 37-69 months
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, the children were taken from
the Stanford University nursery
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, Bandura asked the nursery staff to
rate each child’s aggression before the experiment
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, Bandura used the nursery staff’s aggression ratings to
devise a matched pairs experimental design so that each condition of the independent variable would comprise an equal balance of aggressive children
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, Bandura used the nursery staff’s aggression ratings to devise a matched pairs experimental design so that each condition of the independent variable would comprise an equal balance of aggressive children e.g.
a high-aggression child in one condition would be matched with a high-aggression child in another condition
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, an adult male or female
model was observed per condition (the models were not known to the children) with a large inflatable doll named Bobo
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, there were three conditions of the independent variable:
- aggressive model
- non‐aggressive model
- control group
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, there were three conditions of the independent variable: Aggressive model
the model behaved aggressively towards the Bobo doll, using pre-determined, standardised behaviours e.g. hitting Bobo with a toy hammer
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, there were three conditions of the independent variable: Non‐aggressive model
the model behaved in a non-aggressive way
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, there were three conditions of the independent variable: Control group
no model was present
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, there was an equal number of
times in which a same-sex model or opposite-sex model was used per condition
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, each child observed
the behaviour of the model for 10 minutes (aggressive or non-aggressive depending on the condition)
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, after this period of observation,
each child was taken down a corridor and to another room
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, each child was told that
they could not play with the toys in the new room as they were being saved for other children (the aggression arousal phase, to ensure a baseline across conditions)
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, each child was then taken
to a room containing a Bobo Doll, aggressive toys such as a mallet and a dart gun and non-aggressive toys such as farm toys and crayons
Bandura (1961) set up the following study to investigate social learning theory, the participants were observed in
the Bobo Doll room using a one-way mirror for a duration of 20 minutes
Findings: children who had
observed aggressive behaviour were more likely to be aggressive towards the Bobo doll
Findings: boys were
more physically aggressive
Findings: girls were
more verbally aggressive
Findings: children were
more likely to imitate the behaviour of the same-sex role model
Conclusion: aggression can be
learned via the mechanisms of SLT
Conclusion: imitation
of aggression can occur after only a single exposure to the aggressive act
Conclusion: aggression may be
observed in one setting and imitated in a different setting
Bandura’s Bobo doll study diagram
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Strengths
- Bandura used
a well-controlled, standardised procedure across several phases
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Strengths
- Bandura used a well-controlled, standardised procedure across several phases, this means that
the study could be replicated easily
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Strengths
- Bandura used a well-controlled, standardised procedure across several phases, repeated replication
of a study means that the results can be checked for consistency across time and using different samples
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Strengths
- Bandura used a well-controlled, standardised procedure across several phases, the above observations mean
that the study has good reliability
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Strengths
- The results of Bandura’s study
fuelled much debate as to children’s exposure to the depiction of violence on television
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Strengths
- The results of Bandura’s study fuelled much debate as to children’s exposure to the depiction of violence on television, this means that
his study has good external validity as it can be applied to settings and behaviours beyond the experimental space itself
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Limitations
- Children do not
‘learn’ aggression in lab conditions; real-life violence is generally observed in familiar settings involving familiar adults
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Limitations
- Children do not ‘learn’ aggression in lab conditions; real-life violence is generally observed in familiar settings involving familiar adults, this makes
Bandura’s study less ecologically valid than research conducted in the field would be
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Limitations
- There are numerous
ethical issues with this study
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Limitations
- There are numerous ethical issues with this study, asking nursery
workers to rate children’s aggression is intrusive and may have encouraged bias
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Limitations
- There are numerous ethical issues with this study, some of the children were
exposed to an aggressive adult which may have alarmed and distressed them
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Limitations
- There are numerous ethical issues with this study, the aggression
arousal phase may have upset the children
Evaluation of Bandura’s research
Limitations
- There are numerous ethical issues with this study, the children in the aggressive condition may
have gone on to use similar aggression outside of the experiment
