3b. Bandura et al

Reciprocal determinism

A person’s behaviour both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment

Observational learning

We imitate the behaviour of those around us so the environment causes behaviour

Experimental participants

• Participants = 36 boys and 36 girls aged 37-69 months with mean age being 52 months

• 8 experimental conditions (6 children) and control condition (24 children)

Experimental conditions

• Children observed role models interacting with Bobo-Doll

• 24 children → role model was agressive with 12 children seeing male model and 12 seeing female model

• 24 children → role model not agressive with 12 children seeing male model and 12 seeing female model

4 phases of the procedure

1. Cover story

2. Modelling

3. Mild aggression arousal

4. Phase 4 testing for imitative learning

Phase 1 → cover story

• Each child in the experimental conditions was brought individually to the experimental setting

• On the way to the playroom, the experimenter and the child encountered the adult model who was invited to come and join in the game

• Experiment then escorted the child to one corner of the room and showed how to make pictures out of of potato pints and stickers

• Experimenter then escorted the model to the opposite corner of the room which contained a small table and chair, tinker toys, a mallet, and a 5-foot inflatable Bobo doll. The model was told that they could play with these toys

Phase 2 → modelling

• In the non-aggressive condition → the model assembled the tinker toys in a quiet, subdued manner totally ignoring the bobo doll

• In the aggressive conditions → the model assembled the tinker toys for about a minute and then model turned to the bobo doll and spent the remaining time aggressing towards it

5 aggressive acts by the model

1. The model laid bobo doll on its side, sat on it and punched it repeatedly on the nose

2. Struck it on the head with the mallet

3. Tossed it in the air and kicked it around the room

4. This was repeatedly approximately 3 times, interspersed with verbally aggressive responses such as “sock him in the nose” - “throw him in the air” - “kick him” - “pow”

5. Two non-aggressive comments → “he keeps coming back for more” - “he sure is a tough fella”

Phase 3 → mild aggression arousal

Each child is taken to a room with attractive toys, but as soon as the child was involved in the play material, the experiments told the child she had decided to reserve these toys for other children

Phase 4 → testing for imitative learning

• Experimenter and child go into another room with a variety of toys that could be use…

• Imitative or non-imitative aggression → 3-foot bobo doll, mallet + peg board, 2 dart guns, and a teather ball with a face painted on it

• Non-aggressive play → tea set, crayons + paper, a ball, 2 dolls, 3 bears, cars + trucks, and plastic farm animals

• The child’s behaviour is then observed for 20 minutes

Coding the children’s behaviour

Independently coded by either the male model or another coder so that one or the other of the coders had no knowledge of the condition to which the child was assigned

• Imitative aggressive behaviour → physical aggression (e.g., sitting on bobo, hitting with the mallet) + verbal aggression

• Non-imitative aggressive behaviour → punching bob + other non-imitative aggression + aggressive gun play

Do children who observe aggressive adult models imitate aggressive behaviour

Children in the aggressive groups…

• Were more likely to sit on the doll

• Display physical aggression

• Verbal aggression

• Punch the bobo doll

• Mallet aggression

Children in the control group and non-aggressive model experimental group

• Engaged in almost no behaviour that was coded as imitative aggression

• Spontaneously very unlikely to engage in aggressive acts demonstrated in the aggressive model experimental conditions

Do children who observe aggressive adult model engage in more non-imitative aggression than the other groups

Children in the aggressive groups compared non-aggressive model showed more non-imitative aggression → punching bobo doll, other non-imitative aggression, aggressive gun play

Does the sex of the model and sex of the child influence engagement in the imitative and non-imitative aggression

• Boys more likely to engage in more imitative and non-imitative aggression when exposed to aggressive male model compared to girls

• Girls more likely to engage in imitative verbal aggression and non-imitative aggression when exposed to aggressive female model compared to boys

• Boys more likely to reproduce models physically aggressive acts than girls

• No gender differences in reproducing model’s verbal aggression

Conclusions made from the study

Behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation without reinforcement with this study providing evidence for learning by imitation and delayed imitation

Ethical issues

• Mild aggression arousal → purposefully upsetting/making the child angry

• Teaching aggression → potential long term effects

Scientific issues

• Lab study → low ecological validity so issues with generalising findings

• Sample bias as all children were from stanford nursery so only US which means generally high socio-economic status

• Issues with determning whether it is aggression or play

Aggression

An act perpertrated by an individual that is intended to cause physical, psychological or social harm

How can we operationalise aggression in ethical ways

• Hot sauce paradigm

• Competitive games

• Pain (e.g. noise, level)

4 steps in the social learning theory

1. Attention → interesting/similar model, distinctive and attractive behaviour is modelled, few distractions

2. Retention → time for mental rehearsal, age

3. Motivation → rewards vs punishment for model/self

4. Reproduction → opportunity, physical skills

A model’s behaviour is more likely to be imitated if…

• The model is competent at what they model

• The model has status/prestige

• The behaviour is relevant to the learner

• The learner can identify with the model

3 types of model

1. Live model → involves an actual individual demonstrating or acting out a behaviour

2. A verbal instructional model → involved descriptions and explanations of a behaviour

3. Symbolic model → involves real or fictional characters displaying behaviours in books, films, television programmes, video games or online media

Further research from Bandura’s study

• Bushman (2012) → media violence and young people

• Anderson et al. (2010) → review of studies on effect of video games

• Kuhn et al. (2019) → longitudinal study on the effect of computer games on aggression

• Ferguson & Kilburn (2010) → challenges findings by Anderson et al.

Modelling therapy

Phobic people watch a model act out the process of conquering their fear → client can copy action of actor overcoming their fear

Violence reduction

Johnson & Johnson (1996) reviewed programs designed to reduce violence in schools → conflict resolution and peer mediation programs