Bandura et al study - from quilt

When did Bandura's study take place?

1961

Why did Bandura choose to carry out this study?

- explore behaviourist perspective in terms of the social learning theory he had developed

What was Bandura's Research aim?

- to see whether children would imitate aggressive behavior even if it was in a different environment and the model was no longer present

What were Bandura's four hypotheses?

1. subjects exposed to aggressive models would be more likely to imitate aggressive acts resembling their models

2. subjects exposed to non-aggressive models would have an inhibited effect on their subsequent behavior

3. same sex model - greater level of imitation

4. boys would be more pre disposed towards imitating aggression.

What type of research method did Bandura use? Evidence

Lab Experiment
- independent variables, dependent variables and controls

How was Bandura's Sample obtained?

Opportunity.
It is thought that parents gave permission for children to take part in research associated with Stanford Uni when signing up to Stanford Nursery.

Describe Bandura's Sample:

72 Children

36 boys 36 girls

Average age of 52 months

Attending Stanford Nursery School

How were participant variables controlled within Bandura's Study?

Pretesting for Matched Groups Design

Can you describe the pre-testing process?

The Experimenter and Nursery Teacher rated 51 of the participants of four characteristics due to prior levels of aggression in terms of interactions in the nursery school.

1. Physical Aggression

2. Verbal Aggression

3. Aggression towards inanimate objects

4. Aggression inhibition

After both judges compared results through correlation. A high correlation co-efficient was found of 0.89, therefore a high level of inter rater reliability was found also - consistent results.

What experimental design did Bandura use? Why?

Matched Groups
- arranged into triplets based on pre-testing scores
- assigned in a random basis to conditions (3)

What are the three conditions?

two experimental
- Aggressive Model
- Non Aggressive Model
control
- No Model

Give two advantages of Matched Groups?

- reduced participant variables
- no order effects

Give two disadvantages of Matched Groups?

- time consuming
- difficult

How many people were in each of the 8 sub-divided experimental groups?

6 children - female or male

How many people were in each of the 2 sub divided control groups

12 children - female or male

What are the three independent variables within Bandura's study?

1. whether model was aggressive

2. gender of model

3. gender of participant

What were the five model conditions?

- Male Aggressive
- Male Non-Aggressive
- Female Aggressive
- Female Non-Aggressive
- No Model

How many stages were involved in Bandura's Procedure?

3

Describe Stage 1 for the aggressive model condition?

10 minutes long
- began with model playing with tinker toys for 1 minute
- then turned to Bobo Doll and was aggressive towards it for the rest of time
- laying it on side
- sitting on it
- punching it repeatedly in the nose
- picking it up striking mallet on it's head
- throwing aggressively in the air
- kicking across the room
verbal aggression also
- 'Pow'
- 'Kick Him'
- 'Sock him in the nose'
- 'Knock him down'
- ' Throw him in the air'
Two non-aggressive
- 'He keeps coming back for more'
- 'He sure is a tough fella'

Describe Stage 1 for the non-aggressive model condition:

taken into a room with high interest activities such as potato printing.
Model sat on another table with tinker toys, bobo doll and mallet -played with tinker toys.

Describe Stage 1 for control group:

No prior exposure to the adult models.

Describe Stage 2:

Participants were taken into a smaller room by experimenter, in this room were some attractive toys e.g. a toy fire engine, spinning top, doll set etc. The children were told they could play with them.
After two minutes the child was told they could not play with them, they were 'her very best toys' not anyone could play with them' they were some other toys in another room.

Why did Stage 2 take place:

In order to arouse aggression:

In research it was found that witnessing aggression tends to reduce immediate aggression; therefore they aroused aggression so any behaviours learned from the model would be seen.

Describe Stage 3:

Children entered third room allowed to play with toys for 20 minutes.
- Same set up for each child
- Same toys as first room - including smaller bobo doll than before
- Aggressive toys - two dart guns and ball hanging from ceiling
- Non Aggressive Toys - crayons, tea set, cars, trucks
- Observed through one way mirror - time point sample every 5 seconds a note of behaviour was recorded

Give 5 controls of Bandura's Study:

1. same set up of toys

2. same range of toys available

3. same amount of time in each stage

4. same time difference between observations

5. same forms of aggression seen

How long were each stages?

1. 10 minutes

2. 2 minutes

3. 20 minutes

10*2=20

Why was it necessary to have non-aggressive model condition as well as a control condition?

to see whether children's behaviour will change with the presence of a model or not. Will they imitate?

Give the 4 why necessary's? and explain why?

- control group and non-aggressive model
to see whether children's behavior will change with the presence of a model or not, will they imitate
- distintictive aggressive acts
so that it would be clear to distinguish whether the children were acting aggressive due to themselves or imitation
- mild aggression arousal stage 2
to give participants a reason to get aggressive and imitate acts learnt
- individual studying of child behavior
as children could influence eachother, closer study, no fighting with eachother

How was inter-rater reliability tested in the observation?

half of the children also had their behavior scored independently by a second observer

What were the three response measures for imitative behaviour?

- imitation of physical aggression
- imitation of verbal aggression
- imitation of non aggressive verbal responses

What were the two response measures for partial imitative behaviour?

- mallet aggression - towards objects other than bobo doll
- sits on bobo doll - no aggression though

What were the three response measures for non-imitative aggressive behaviour?

- punching bobo doll
- non-imitative physical towards objects other than bobo and verbal eg. 'shoot the bobo'
- aggressive gun play

Give the 4 observation categories:

- Imitative behaviour
- Partial imitative behaviour
- Non-Imitative Behaviour
- Non Aggressive/Sitting Quietly

Give results that prove hypothesis 1 to be correct, aggressive models will show significantly more imitative aggressive behaviour (finding)

25.8 mean number of acts male aggressive model boys
2.0 no model
1.5 non-aggressive male model

Give results that prove hypothesis 2 to be correct,
non aggressive models - inhibiting effect

same as hypothesis 1 results
physical aggression - Girls
5.5 aggressive female model
2.5 non aggressive female model
1.2 no model

Give results that prove hypothesis 3 to be correct, same sex model - more likely to imitate behaviour

Verbal Aggression - Girls
Aggressive Female 13.7
Aggressive Male 2.0

Give results that prove hypothesis 4 to be correct
Boys more likely to be more pre-disposed towards displaying aggressive behaviour

physical aggression - same sex model - aggressive
25.8 for boys
5.5 for girls

Give the three qualitative findings of this study?

- girls more verbally aggressive
- aggressive model, more aggressive
- boys more likely to imitate same sex models than girls

What does this study conclude? Two tHINGS?

- Children learn through imitation, social learning theory
- boys more aggressive than girls - physically

Give 2 disadvantages of Bandura's sample:

- Low generalisability al children came from the same middle class area; parents would probably have similar characteristics.
- doesn't tell us anything about how likely adults are to imitate behaviour

What 2 ethical guidelines did Bandura uphold?

- consent
- competence

What 5 ethical guidelines did Bandura break?

Protection from harm, purposely exposed to violence
Deception - weren't made aware of what study involved
Debriefing
Withdrawal, weren't aware that they could leave
Confidentiality, footage released of experiment

Was Bandura's study reliable? Give two reasons

YES
Internally - controlled lab experiment could easily be repeated
Externally - large sample of 72 children

Give 3 reasons why Bandura's study is valid? Give one reason as to it being of low validity?

1. Less Risk of Participant variables, matched group design

2. Genuinely Bandura's aim to understand, same repeat pattern of behaviours

3. High Eco Validity in terms of children are used to playing with different toys at a nursery with adults present

4. Low Eco Validity, unlikely for model to show aggression towards toys in normal situation

Bandura's study can't be applied to everyone, give two reasons why - ethnocentric

- big families more used to having toys taken away, less likely to get angry during stage 2
- children more exposed to war and aggression e.g. Afghanistan may act differently than those in a less violent society

How does Bandura's study link to the developmental area?

looks into how a childs behaviour can be shaped in the future if they observe and imitate certain behaviour - how they can change and develop

How does Bandura's study link to the key theme of external influences on children's behaviour?

the influence of role models on learning behaviour, social learning theory - environmental influences due to people in life situations.

What three debates does Bandura's study link to?

Usefulness
Nature Vs Nurture
Free Will Vs Determinism

How is Bandura's study useful?

know social learning theory is true, behaviour is imitated by children, can apply in real life and change our behaviour.
- Parents and Teachers careful of their behaviour
- Watershed 9 o'clock important
- higher age rating on violent films and tv shows

How does Bandura's study link to Nature vs Nurture?

if children are taught violent behaviour through imitation of role, models then nurture is correct compared to acting violent without effect of external influences
NURTURE - SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
NATURE - BOYS MORE PHYSICALLY AGGRESSIVE
GIRLS VERBALLY

How does Bandura's study link to free will vs determinism? 2 reasons

- model determined the children's behaviour
- biological determinism - testosterone levels - physical aggression shown by boys