Paper 2 - Bandura et al on aggression

Question 1

What is the aim of this study ?

Answer 1

To demonstrate that learning can occur through simple observation of a model and that the imitated behaviour can be observed in the absence of the model.

Question 2

What were the predictions for this study ?

Answer 2

When observing aggressive behaviour the child will produce a similar behaviour
pps will imitate the behaviour of a same sex model to a greater degree.
Boys will be more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour than girls as its a highly masculine activity

Question 3

What was the sample?

Answer 3

Opportunity sampling of american children from stanford university nursery. 36 girls and 36 boys ages between 3-6 years old. matched pairs design was used by matching age, gender and aggression levels

Question 4

How were the childrens’ aggressive levels initially assessed ?

Answer 4

aAgression levels were evaluated using a 5 point rating scale with a coding frame.

Question 5

What was the observation technique used ?

Answer 5

They used time sampling ( every 5 seconds ) using an independent inter rater score of +.90 using the pearsons test meaning different researchers agreed on the categories to a high degree

Question 6

What was the IV?

Answer 6

whether a child witnessed an aggressive or non aggressive model
the gender of the model
the gender of the child

Question 7

What was the DV ?

Answer 7

The observed amount of imitative and aggressive behaviour shown by the child in phase 3. Measured by the 2 experimenters at 5 second intervals recording displays of imitative behaviour, partial imitative behaviour, non imitative behaviour and non aggressive behaviour

Question 8

What materials were used ?

Answer 8

bobo doll
dart gun
mallet
tea set
toy cars
dolls

Question 9

How were the 72 children grouped ?

Answer 9

group 1. observed an aggressive model
group 2. observed a non aggressive model
group 3. control group
the 3 groups were divided into sub groups of viewing a same sex model and an opposite sex model

Question 10

what is phase 1 of this study ?

Answer 10

the children sat individually t a table playing with prints and stickers. they were in the room with an aggressive or non aggressive model for 10 minutes (excluding the control group)

Question 11

What is phase 2 of this study?

Answer 11

The children were subjected to mild aggressive arousal. initially they could play with toys bit after 2 minutes they were taken off the and told they were for other children but they could play with all the toys in the main room

Question 12

What was phase 3 of this study ?

Answer 12

children were taken to the main room with the bobo doll, mallet, dart gun, toy car, tea set and dolls. the children were observed through a one way mirror for 20 minutes whilst observers recorded behaviour at 5 second intervals in the following categories: imitated behaviour, partially imitative behaviour, non imitative behaviour, non aggressive behaviour

Question 13

what were the findings from this study ?

Answer 13

Children in the aggressive model group imitated aggressive behaviour.
Children on the non aggressive model group imitated non aggressive behaviour
This imitated behaviour was in the absence of the model
Boys were more physically aggressive than girls
Boys with a same sex model imitated to a greater degree
male models had a larger influence than female models
Children can learn behaviour through observation and imitation

Boys showed on average 25.8 acts of aggression and girls showed on average 7.2 acts of aggression

Question 14

evaluate the research methods

Answer 14

Strengths: controlled conditions of the labs allowed for high control over extraneous variables and therefore less chance of demand characteristics meaning more valid conclusions. Childrens’ levels of aggression were assessed and matched before the study this allowed the researchers to ensure that the iv was affecting the dv and nothing else .
Weaknesses: the childrens initial aggressiveness was measure by their teacher this may be subjective and lack validity however, the ratings were validated by an experimenter. The bobo doll is seen as being a toy to punch due to its design, this may reduce the validity of the results,e.g. one child said “thats the doll were supposed to hit” time sampling at 5 second intervals may cause important information to be missed. Matched pairs design may have pps variables, however it allows for no order effects and demand characteristics.The study lacks ecological validity.

Question 15

what were 2 things that the aggressive models said ?

Answer 15

phow
bonk him on the nose

Question 16

evaluate the sample

Answer 16

Strengths:opportunity sampling is quick and easy. The pps are all children so it allows us to see the effect that imitation has on young children. Both genders are used so the findings can be generalised also it allows us to see hoe gender affects imitation.
Weaknesses: Children are more impressionable than adults so cannot generalise to older than 6 year olds .

Question 17

evaluate reliability

Answer 17

The standardised instructions such as experimenter saying the same thing, same toys means its replicable. Lab environment allows for control over extraneous variables which means natural behaviour.
Theres no criterion validity to real life

Question 18

evaluate the ethnocentrism in the study

Answer 18

Pps were all middle class americans. this means that results cannot be generalised further than this group. It also may be that it cannot be generalised to children in a less violent society as they’re less willing to behave aggressively

Question 19

evaluate the data

Answer 19

Quantitative data was collected by counting the number of aggressive behaviours displayed, this makes it easy for the objective results to be compared between the groups. However it is simplistic.
Qualitative data was also collected to show who was specifically more aggressive for example one child said “ thats no way for a lady to behave”. This allows for detailed results and reasons behind behaviour. However its more difficult to analyse and draw conclusions from

Question 20

evaluate the validity

Answer 20

Lacks ecological validity and it is not accurate to every day life as bobo dolls aren’t the same as people. This is a snapshot study so it cannot be generalised long term - the effect may wear off.

Question 21

evaluate the ethics of this study

Answer 21

informed consent: the parents gave consent however the children arent old enough to consent so they didn’t consent to being studied.
right to withdraw: using young children meant they couldn’t thoroughly chose to withdraw
Deception: there was no deception to the parents however the children didn’t know they were in a study.
Confidentiality: the children’s personal identities weren’t published however there are videos online of the study online, it wasn’t anonymous.
Harm: inducing anger onto children could change their behaviour and affect the children’s emotional state.

Question 22

What type of study is this ?

Answer 22

Controlled lab experiment