Core study 9- Bandura (D) Flashcards
The development of aggression
Which theory is the basis of the background of the study?
Social learning theory- observe role models= vicarious reinforcement and likely chance of imitation
What was the aim of Bandura’s study?
What 3 aspects were solely focused on?
To investigate observational learning of aggression (SLT)
- Observing aggressive model= imitate more aggression
- Boys more aggressive than girls
- Children imitate more actions from same-sex models the most
What kind of experiment was carried out in the study?
How were children sorted into their randomly distributed conditions?
Labatory experiment (with elements of a controlled observation)
Pre-rated for natural aggression on 4, 1-5 point rating scales- then matched into 3’s and evenly distributed across modelling conditions
How were the groups/ conditions structured? (control, aggressive, non-aggressive)
Aggressive: male role model- 6 male children and 6 female children
female role model- 6 male children and 6 female children
Non-aggressive: male role model- 6 male children and 6 female children
female role model- 6 male children and 6 female children
Control (no model): 12 male children, 12 female children
Equates to 72 children
What experimental design was used for the study?
Independent measures design
What independent variables were present in the study?
- Gender of the model (m or f)
- Gender of the child (m or f)
- Aggression or no aggression (behaviour of model)
What was the dependent variable?
What type of actions were considered for both physical and verbal aggression?
Number of imitative aggressive actions
* physical: kick, hit with mallet, punch
* verbal: “Sock him in the nose”
What did the sample consist of for the study?
- 72 children from Stanford University Nursery
- 36 males, 36 females
- mean age of 52 months
What controls were present within the study?
- same 2 adult observers behind one-way mirror
- same adult models across conditions
- same adult experimenter
- same order of toys (stage 3)
Stage 1
How long did this part take?
Which groups/ conditions were involved in this stage?
10 minutes
No, control group was not involved
Stage 1
What was the adult doing when the children individually came into the room?
Playing ‘calmly’ with tinker toys
This was the same regardless of whether the groups were going to see aggressive or non-aggressive behaviour
Stage 1
What did the adult do in the non-aggressive condition?
Adult continued to calmly play with tinker toys
Stage 1
What did the adult do in the aggressive condition?
After 1 minute- experimenter hits, kicks, and throws bobo doll in the air (models aggression), also uses verbal aggression like “Sock him in the nose”
Stage 2
How long did this part take?
Which groups/ conditions were involved in this stage?
2 minutes
All groups were involved
Stage 2
What was in the second room?
Appealing toys e.g. fire engine, tea set, dolls
Stage 2
What did the experimenter say to the children in the room?
At first: they could play with the toys
After they began to play: they can’t play, as these toys were reserved for the ‘best’ children
Stage 3
How long did this part take?
Which groups/ conditions were involved in this part?
20 minutes
All groups/ conditions
Stage 3
Where were the children taken next and what was in this room?
not toys/ objects
Another room outside of the nursery, this room contained a one-way mirror
Stage 3
What did the experimenter do in this room?
Looked ‘busy’ with paperwork and acted as if he wasn’t watching the children
Stage 3
How did the order of the toys make the experiment fair across all three conditions?
They were ordered in the same way across all 3 conditions so there would be no bias on toys chosen
Stage 3
What did the 2 observers behind the one-way mirror do?
They observed the children and aggression towards the bobo doll
They also checked for inter-rater reliability
This was done the same for all 3 conditions
Results
What was found about witnessing aggressive models?
Witnessing an aggressive model= significantly more agressive themselves
Results
What results were found from non-aggressive group and control group?
There was very little difference in aggression between these two groups
Was same-sex modelling iminent in the results?
Yes- Boys were more likely to imitate aggressive male models
How were boys found to be aggressive in comparison to girls?
physical and verbal aggression
Boys more physically aggressive
Girs more verbally aggressive (when observing a female model)
What was concluded about witnessing aggression firsthand?
Is the Social Learning Theory correct?
Witnessing it can be enough to produce aggression by an observer
Yes
What was concluded about gender-specific behaviour?
- Children selectively imitate it
- Boys and girls more likely to imitate physical aggression from male role models
- Verbal aggression more likely to be imitated from same-sex role models for girls
