Banadura, Ross and Ross

Aim

Aim

do children who witness aggression later imitate that aggression?

hypothesis

• subjects exposed to an aggressive model will re produce aggressive acts

• subjects exposed to non aggressive acts will not be aggressive

• subjects will imitate same sex models to a greater degree

• boys will be more aggressive than girls

variables

• IV- type of role model like aggressive or non aggressive, male or female role model and children

• DV- children behaviour

data collection

• structured observation

• behavioural checklist

• time sampling ( behaviour recorded every 5 seconds)

Participants

• 72 children from Stanford University nursery

• 37-69 months old

Experimental group (aggressive)

Aggressive

12 boys + 12 girls

-FRM,FC

-FRM,MC

-MRM,FC

MRM,MC

Experimental group (Non aggressive)

12 boys + 12 girls

-FRM,FC

-FRM,MC

-MRM,FC

MRM,MC

Control group

• no role model

• 12 boys + 12 girls

Method

• lab experiment

Design

matched groupes

Initial observation (before acc procedure)

• children observed and scored out of 20

• physical aggression 0-5

• verbal aggression 0-5

• aggression to objects 0-5

• inhibition (shy/centre of attention) 0-5

Procedure (stage 1)

Exposure to role models

non aggressive group

• child sat at table with arts and crafts

• experimenter comes in with RM

• RM sits quietly

  aggressive group

• everything the same but the RM performs a series of violent actions eg, throw bobo doll around, punches and hits the doll, makes aggressive comments

Procedure (stage 2)

Aggression arousal

• experimenter takes child into a toy filled room

• child stays in room until they are focused on one toy experimenter says “NO THESE TOYS R FOR GOOD CHILDREN NOT FOR U”

Procedure (stage 3)

Test of Imitation

• children in room with one way mirror so experimenter can observe from the other side

• there is a peg board and mallet a tetherball arts and crafts, toys, a gun and the bobo doll

• children stay in room for 20 minutes while the researcher records what they do from the other side of the glass using a behavioural checklist

results

• subjects with aggressive role models more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour eg, mallet aggression in FC shown the MRM was 18.8 whereas FC shown non aggressive MRM was 0.5.

• showing SLT

Evaluation-method

+shows cause and effect

+high level of control

-low ecological validity because its a lab experiment

Evaluation-data

quantitative:

+easy to compare

-lacks detail

qualitative:

+more detail

Evaluation-ethics

+confidentiality

-no consent from parents

-no right to withdraw

-taught aggression, cannot be undone

Evaluation-ethnocentrism

• if a culture is calm kids more likely to be

nature/nurture

NURTURE

• everything was learnt

Determinism/ freewill

DETERMINISM

• RM is determining the behaviour of the child

Reductionism/ holism

Reductionist

• as stimulus causes a response, the behaviour of role model caused the child to be aggressive.