Bandura and Ross

Year

1961

Aim

To find out how observing an adult model behaving

aggressively towards an inflatable doll (Bobo doll) influences

children’s subsequent aggressive behaviour.

Method

The key method is a laboratory experiment (the IV

was manipulated, the DV was measured). The way

researchers measured the DV (children’s subsequent

behaviour) was structured observation through a one-

way mirror.

Participants

72 children (36 girls and 36 boys) aged 3–6.

Procedure

The children were split up randomly in a number of

groups.

• Aggressive role model (24 children)—in this group the

adult model behaved aggressively towards the Bobo doll

by following a script.

• Non-aggressive role model (24 children)—in this group

the adult model followed a similar script, but aggressive

actions were replaced by non-aggressive actions.

• Control group— this group had no model.

There were then 3 stages

Stage 1

A child was seated in one corner of a room and an adult

model in another corner. The child was given prints and

stickers to play with, and the model had a Tinkertoy set,

a mallet and a 1.5-metre tall inflatable Bobo doll. The

script that the adult model followed in the aggressive

condition was to spend some time playing with the

toy set and then to turn to the Bobo doll and behave

aggressively towards it, both verbally and physically.

In the non-aggressive condition the model just played

quietly with the toys.

Stage 2

The child was taken to another room and a frustrating

situation was created to “instigate” the child’s

aggression. The child was given attractive toys, but

when the interest was sparked and the play began, the

child was separated from the toys and taken to a third

room instead.

Stage 3

The DV was measured in the third room, which contained

a one-way mirror. The room contained toys similar to

those in the first rooms, including a slightly smaller

version of the Bobo doll. Observation at this stage lasted

for 20 minutes.

The researchers had a checklist of behaviours to observe,

including such categories as imitative aggression (aggressive

acts copied from the distinctive behaviour of the adult model

at stage 1), non-imitative aggression

Results

Exposure of children to the aggressive model increased

the frequency of aggressive behaviour among the

children.

• Imitation in same-sex role model conditions was more

likely than in the conditions where the sex of the child

and the sex of the model were different.

• Boys were more likely to be aggressive than girls across

all groups.

• Boys were more likely to imitate physical aggression

while girls were more likely to imitate verbal aggression.

Conclusion

the idea of observational learning was supported: learning can indeed

be indirect and new behaviours can be learned by simply

observing others.