Bandura (1961) - Study | International Baccalaureate

Name of the Researcher

Bandura

Year of Publication

1961

IB Questions

• The Individual and the Group - Social Cognitive Theory

Aim

To investigate if children imitates the behaviour of an aggressive adult.

Research Method

True Experiment (Laboratory)

Participants

36 Boys and 36 Girls

Procedure

1. Children were randomly allocated to different conditions of the aggression levels of an adult model:

   a. Aggressive

   b. Passive

   c. No Adult Model

2. The children were put in the same room alone with the doll, and their aggression was measured.

Results

• Boys were 3x more aggressive than girls.

• The children were aggressive if they had been exposed to aggression.

• Children are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour if the model is of the same gender.

Strengths

+ High Internal Validity

Limitations

- Ethical Concerns
- Small Sample
- Low Ecological Validity