social learning theory - bandura et al (1961) Flashcards
What was the aim of this study?
- To see whether aggressive behaviour could be acquired through observing aggressive models.
- To see whether children were more likely to aggress, having observed a same sex model, and if boys were generally were more aggressive overall.
What was the setting of the experiment?
laboratory experiment with observational technique
How many ppts were there?
36 boys and 36 girls (72 overall)
What was the age range of the ppts?
3-6 years
What was the dependant variable?
The level of aggression the children displayed
What were the independent variables?
- Modelling of aggression
- Sex of the model
- Sex of the observer
What was the control variable?
Ensuring that all groups contained equally aggressive children. Ratings of the children were done before the study took place by an experimenter who knew the children well and one of the children’s teachers - they used this to match the children accordingly.
What were the three groups?
- Aggression group - observed an aggressive, adult model (male or female), punching, kicking and shouting at an inflatable BOBO doll.
- Non-aggression group - Non-aggressive model assembling mechanical toys.
- Control group - No model was present when the children were playing
what was the hypothesis of the study ?
- children will imitate aggressive model
- non aggressive model will have an inhibiting affect of children’s behaviour
- same sex model will have more influence on children’s behaviour
- boys will be more aggressive
findings for the study (3) ?
- children who witnessed the aggressive model were likely to completely or partially imitate the aggression
- children who observed non-aggressive behaviour or those who had not observed an adult at all displayed much less aggression (none in 70% of cases)
- boys more likely to imitate aggression shown by same-sex model and more likely overall to imitate physical aggression (though not verbal)
what are the conclusions of the study ?
- social behaviour such as aggression can be acquired by imitation of models.
- imitation is more likely when the modelled behaviour is gender-typical
- imitation more likely when the model and observer are the same sex
validity of the study ?
- strength is that the design had several clever features that reduced the impact of extraneous variables, improving the internal validity
- children taking part in each condition were matched on aggression - reducing impact of individual differences
- non-aggressive conditions allowed researchers to control for spontaneous aggression
- observing children individually controlled for conformity effects
what is a weakness of the study ?
- took place under artificial conditions
- conducted in a laboratory
- situation in which aggression was measured (playing with a BOBO Doll) is not the same from typical situation in which children may display aggression
- therefore study lacks ecological validity - cannot be sure to what extent the results can be generalised to settings outside a laboratory
what does the high internal validity of the experiment mean ?
the degree of control means we can be reasonably sure that the observed aggression was the result of imitation of the aggressive model
application of the study ?
- study can be applied to explaining how children can acquire aggressive behaviour from adult models such as parents
- psychologists and social workers now have a better understanding of the risks to children’s development when they have violent parents - even when violence is not directed at the children
- application of bandura’s research demonstrates its significance in shaping our thoughts and social policy when it comes to exposing children to violent adult models
