Bandura et al. (1961)

Name and year of the study

Bandura et al. (1961)

Aim

To investigate whether children will imitate aggressive behavior by observing an adult and whether or not the sex of the adult model will have an influence on the likelihood of the children imitating observed aggression.

Type of study

Laboratory

Sample

36 girls and 36 boys from the nursery of an American university. Age range was from 3 to 6 years.

Procedure

The children were divided into 3 groups: aggressive model, non-aggressive model, and no model. The aggressive and non-aggressive model had two sub-categories: the opposite-sex and the same-sex model. Depending on the group they were in, they were exposed to either a model who verbally and physically abused a Bobo doll, or no model. Each child was then allowed to play in a room full of toys and a Bobo doll (alone) for 20 minutes

Results

Children who were exposed to the aggressive model were much more likely to imitate that aggression, especially if they had a same-sex model. However, it is important to note that not all children observed and imitated the behavior.

How does this study link to the social cognitive theory

1. It shows that behavior is likely to be imitated if one observes it

2. The children followed the four cognitive factors of the theory: attention, retention, motivation, and reproduction

What are the 4 key cognitive factors in the social cognitive theory

1. Attention: for an individual to learn from another person’s behavior, they must be paying attention to the other individual’s actions and the consequences of their behavior

2. Retention: individuals must be able to remember the behavior they observed in order to imitate it after a short or longer period of time

3. Motivation: individuals must want to replicate the behavior they observed rather than being forced to replicate it

4. Reproduction: they must have the mental and/or physical capability to reproduce ethe observed behavior, so a certain extent of self-efficiency is required