social learning theory - bandura et al (1963,1965) Flashcards
aim of his 1963 study (2)?
- investigate whether a filmed model would have the same effect as a live model on children’s aggression
- investigate whether cartoon aggression would have similar impact to realistic filmed aggression
setting ? (63)
lab experiment
experimental design ? (63)
independant groups
how many ppts ? (63)
- 48 boys
- 48 girls
- so 96 overall
how old were the ppts ? (63)
39-52 months
where were the ppts selected from ? (63)
stanford university nursery
what was the independent variable ? (63)
the model (live, filmed or cartoon)
what was the dependant variable ? (63)
level of aggression the children displayed
what were the four conditions ? (63)
- live aggression
- filmed realistic aggression
- cartoon aggression condition
- control group
what were the findings ? (63)
- all three experimental groups displayed increased aggression
- total acts of aggression:
- live = 83
- filmed realistic = 92
- cartoon = 99
- control = 54
- difference between the aggressive groups not significant - but the difference between them and control was significant
conclusion? (63)
exposure to live or filmed aggression increases the likelihood of aggression in response to frustration, even if the aggression is modelled by a cartoon figure
aim of ‘65 ?
aim was to consider whether reinforcement and punishment of an aggressive model would influence the aggression displayed by observers (children) in response to frustration
number of ppts ? (‘65)
- 33 boys
- 33 girls
- 66 overall
age of ppts? (‘65)
42-71 months
independent variable ? (‘65)
the observed consequence for the model
dependent variable ? (‘65)
the aggression in the children
what were the three conditions ? (‘65)
- model-rewarded condition
- model-punished condition
- no-consequence
what was the reward in the ‘65 study ?
a drink and a chocolate
all three groups from ‘65 were made frustrated by being shown toys that they were not allowed to play with (as it was in all the previous bandura studies), but what was different this time when the children were invited to play with the BOBO Doll ?
the children (all the groups) were later offered attractive rewards to aggress towards the doll
what were the findings ? (‘65)
- children in model-punished group were significantly less aggressive that the other two groups
- however, introducing the promise of a reward wiped out the difference, increasing the scores significantly for all groups
what was the conclusion? (‘65)
vicarious punishment reduces imitated aggression. however, the promise of reinforcement is a more powerful influence on aggression
internal validity of both ?
- strength of both is that the controls used reduced the impact of extraneous variables
- matched pairs design used
- non-aggressive condition allowed researchers to control for spontaneous aggression
competing argument for validity of both?
- bandura’s research only showed short-term effects
- aggression was only shown towards a doll (lacks ecological validity)
- therefore, despite the clever design - findings don’t necessarily explain aggression in real life
why did both experiments have problems with demand characteristics ?
- elements of the procedure could have cued the children as to how they were expected to behave
- noble (1975) reports that one child arriving at the lab for the experiment said, ‘look mummy, there’s the doll we have to hit’
- means experimental procedures may lack validity - we cannot be sure if the children were performing under demand characteristics or not
