SLT Explanation of Aggression

Question 1

What 2 AO1 points are there in this essay?

Answer 1

1) What is aggression?

2) Banduras Bobo Doll Study, Vicarious Reinforcement and Mental Representation

Question 2

What 5 AO2 points are there in this essay?

Answer 2

1) Support from the role of punishment
2) Research on children - biased sample
3) Demand characteristics but responded to with live clown
4) Concept of vicarious learning
5) Cultural variations - Kalahari Desert

Question 3

What is aggression?

Answer 3

Behaviour with the immediate intent to harm someone, oneself or objects in ones environment

Question 4

What forms can aggression take?

Answer 4

Physical, verbal, mental and emotional

Question 5

Are biological factors ignored in this theory?

Answer 5

No - considered as a contributing factor in an individuals potential for aggressive behaviour

Question 6

Why is Bandura’s bobo doll study of great significance?

Answer 6

Clearly illustrates the role of the social learning theory

Question 7

What participants were used in Banduras study?

Answer 7

Male and female 3 to 5 year olds

Question 8

What happened in Banduras study?

Answer 8

Participants split into two groups, one exposed to adult model acting aggressively towards doll, one exposed to adult model acting affectionately

Question 9

What were the results of Bandura’s study?

Answer 9

Children in the aggressive condition reproduced both physical and verbal aggression, whereas children in the non-aggressive group did not

Question 10

What does Bandura’s study show?

Answer 10

It clearly showed SLT taking place as children had observed and imitated the behaviour of the adult

Question 11

What is vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 11

The consequences of aggressive behaviour through watching others be reinforced or punished

Question 12

What do children gradually learn by vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 12

What behaviours are considered appropriate and worth replicating

Question 13

Why do children form a representation of events alongside possible rewards and punishments?

Answer 13

This creates expectancies of future outcomes, and this behaviour will be displayed in the future provided the expected reward is greater than punishment

Question 14

How does the role of mental representation link with the cognitive approach?

Answer 14

Links to cognitive approach in that children are using thought processes and images to form mental representations of future outcomes

Question 15

Considerable research support for the SLT explanation of aggression comes from the role of punishment…

Answer 15

The motives for replication of aggressive behaviour in the absence of the model were questioned, leading to Bandura modifying and repeating the study

Question 16

What happened in Bandura’s modified/repeated study?

Answer 16

3 groups of children, all saw different film ending (reward, punishment, no consequence).

Question 17

What were the findings in Bandura’s modified/repeated study?

Answer 17

Each group performed a similar number of imitative acts - vicarious learning as children had learnt about the consequences and adjusted their behaviour accordingly

Question 18

Showing the children had learnt about the likely consequences of aggressive behaviour and adjusted their subsequent behaviour accordingly…

Answer 18

This therefore provides evidence to support vicarious learning and the role of punishment, consequently giving support to SLT as an explanation of aggression

Question 19

A negative criticism of such research, however, is that the studies were carried out on children..

Answer 19

• Biased sample, so could lack generalisability

- We cannot conclude from studies that SLT can explain adult behaviour too

Question 20

(Children studies - biased), On the other hand, one study found…

Answer 20

• US homicide rates usually increase in the week following major boxing match
• Suggests viewers may have been imitating the behaviour they watched

Question 21

Suggesting that viewers may have been imitating the behaviour they watched…

Answer 21

giving credit to the role of SLT as an explanation for aggressive behaviour, as evidence comes from both children and adults

Question 22

A further methodological flaw is that children may have guessed the true aim of the study prior to physical exposure…

Answer 22

• Poses problem of demand characteristics

- Plastic doll lacks mundane realism, lowering the validity

Question 23

Why does the use of a plastic doll lower the validity?

Answer 23

• Not generally encountered

- Sheer novelty value may account for some of the aggressive behaviour

Question 24

How did Bandura respond to the criticism that the use of a plastic doll lacks mundane realism?

Answer 24

Using a live clown rather than a plastic clown, finding children still acted aggressively

Question 25

Bandura responded to the criticism by using a live clown in place of a plastic doll, finding children still acted aggressively towards the clown…

Answer 25

• Therefore demonstrates that a controlled experiment such as Bandura’s could still be applied to everyday life
• Supporting SLT as an explanation of aggressive behaviour and increasing the validity

Question 26

Another strength of the SLT approach is the role of vicarious learning…

Answer 26

• Can explain aggressive behaviour in the absence of direct reinforcement
• Children still replicated behaviour but were at no point directly rewarded
• Concept is necessary to explain these findings

Question 27

A further strength of the SLT explanation is that it can be used to explain cultural variations…

Answer 27

• Kalahari desert, different childrearing practices so aggression is rarer
• Children are neither rewarded or punished when undesirable behaviour is shown, but separated
• Little motivation for aggressive behaviour to be acquired as this is devalued by society

Question 28

There is little motivation for children to acquire aggressive behaviour, as it is devalued by society…

Answer 28

• Therefore illustrates the role of SLT by it’s absence in this culture
• Just how people learn by observation, they will not learn it by the absence of it