Developmental (CLASSIC) - external influences on children's behavior - BANDURA

Question 1

explain the social learning theory

Answer 1

children learn behavior through observing the behavior of role model in the environment and storing that behavior in memory

Question 2

explain vicarious reinforcement

Answer 2

if they see the model being rewarded in some way for the behavior they will imitate and reproduce the behavior

Question 3

aims

Answer 3

demonstrate learning of aggression can occur through observation of an aggressive model and that imitation and learned aggressive behavior can occur when the model is no longer present
investigate the effects of gender on imitation; whether boys are more likely to imitate aggression than girls and whether children are more likely to imitate same sex rather than opposite sex models

Question 4

4 hypotheses

Answer 4

1. children shown aggressive models will show significantly more imitative aggressive acts resembling those of their models than those shown non aggressive models or no model at all
2. children shown non aggressive models will show significantly fewer aggressive acts than those shown aggressive models or no model at all
3. Boys will show significantly more imitative acts than girls
4. Children will imitate aggression modelled by a same sex adult more than modelled by an opposite sex adult

Question 5

Sample

Answer 5

72 children (36 boys and 36 girls) aged between 37-69 months mean 52 months from Stanford university nursery California USA. Obtained via random samplinh

Question 6

Design

Answer 6

Lab work experiment using matched participants design

Question 7

Independent variables

Answer 7

1. Behavior of model (aggressive or non aggressive)
2. Sex of the model (male or female)
3. Sex of the child (boy or girl)

Question 8

Dependent variables

Answer 8

1. Amount of imitative aggression - physical and verbal aggression identical to that of the model
2. Amount of partially imitative aggression - similar to that carried out by the model
3. Amount of non imitative aggression- aggressive acts not shown by the model

Question 9

Explain how the children were assigned to the conditions

Answer 9

All matched on pre existing levels of aggression. Experimenter and nursery teacher rated each participants aggression on 4 5 point rating scales. Physical and verbal aggression was measured alongside aggression towards inanimate objects and aggression inhibition. Ratings done independently and then compared to test for inter rater reliability. Strong agreement with correlation 0.89.
Children arranged into triplets and assigned to one of the two model conditions at random and a control group.

Question 10

phase 1

Answer 10

adult modelling the aggression
taken into a room and sat a table and played with potato prints and picture stickers for 10 minutes
-aggressive model began assembling a tinker toy set but after a minute turned t a 5 foot bobo doll and spent the remainder of the period being physically and verbally aggressive and said things like ‘kick him…pow…sock him on the nose’
-non aggressive model assembled the tinker toys in a quiet subdued manner ignoring the bobo doll
- control group did not participate in phase 1

Question 11

phase 2 - mild aggression arousal

Answer 11

all children taken individually into another playroom where they were initially allowed to play with some attractive toys but after 2 mins the children were told they could not play with them as they were the very best toys for the other children. This was to arouse mild aggression

Question 12

phase 3 - testing for imitation of aggression

Answer 12

children were taken individually to a third room which contained both aggressive toys e.g 3 foot high bobo doll, mallet, dart guns, non aggressive toys including tea set, cars, dolls. Observed through a one way mirror by a male model and a second researcher for 20 mins who recorded behavior in 5 second intervals (with inter score reliabilities of 0.9)
observers unaware which condition each child was in

Question 13

categories for observing

Answer 13

-imitative aggression
-partially imitative aggression
-non imitative aggression
-non aggressive behavior

Question 14

results aggressive v non aggressive

Answer 14

children in the aggressive condition showed significantly more imitation of physical and verbal aggressive behavior than children in the non aggressive or control conditions (aggression score for male imitative physical aggression having observed male model was 25.4 compared to an aggression score of 1.5 having observed a non aggressive male model)
children in the aggressive condition showed very little aggression although results were not always significantly less than the control group
children in the aggressive condition showed more partial imitation and non imitative aggressive than those in the non aggressive or control conditions (aggression score for female non imitative aggression having observed an aggressive female model was 21.3 compared to an aggression score of 7.2 having observed an non aggressive female model. Results were not always significant though

Question 15

gender of model

Answer 15

boys imitated male models more than girls for physical and verbal aggression, non imitative aggression and gun play (aggression score for male imitative physical aggression having observed a male model = 25.4. The aggression score for female imitative physical aggression having observed a male model =7.2)
Girls imitated female models more than boys for verbal imitative aggression and non imitative aggression (aggression score for female verbal imitative aggression and non imitative aggression (aggression scores for female verbal imitative aggression having observed a female model =13.7, aggression score for male verbal imitative aggression having observed a female model =4.3
the behavior of the male model exerted greater influence than the female model

Question 16

gender of the child

Answer 16

boys produced more imitative physical aggression than girls (aggression score for male imitative physical aggression =38.2, compared to 12.7 for female imitative physical aggression). Little differences in imitative verbal aggression (male verbal aggression =17, female verbal= 15.7

Question 17

results and conclusions

Answer 17

children in the aggressive condition showed more imitative and non imitative aggressive acts in room 3 than children in the non aggressive or control conditions concluding that children can learn aggression through the observation and imitation of role models
the behavior of the male model exerted greater influence than the female model concluding that behavior modeled by adult males has a greater influence in children’s behavior modelled by female adults

Question 18

ethical considerations

Answer 18

lack of parental consent - children too young to give consent, parental consent should be obtained and no clear steps in how they obtained parental permission in original article
right to withdraw - children too young to feel able to withdraw and so researchers must take responsibility for acknowledging when a child should be withdrawn and responding when this arises. Some children didn’t want to go into phase 3 but researchers accompanied them
potential harm - in phase 2 children deliberately made to feel frustrated to arouse mild aggression, this will have caused the children mild distress

Question 19

internal validity

Answer 19

high levels of control so high internal validity - children all matched on aggression levels prior to study and all children had same experiences in phase 2 and 3 and behavior of models were standardized

Question 20

ecological validity

Answer 20

low ecological validity aggression was towards a blow up bobo doll and in real life aggression would be towards a human so we can’t apply our findings to real life children’s imitation of aggression

Question 21

reliability

Answer 21

highly standardized procedure so all children had the same experience in rooms 2 and 3 and behavior of models were standardized so study is internally reliable

Question 22

inter rater reliability

Answer 22

achieved in matching the children pre existing levels of aggression (correlation of +0.98 was achieved) and in observations made by the observers of the children’s aggression in phase 3 (inter scorer reliabilities of 0.90)

Question 23

sampling bias/population validity

Answer 23

number of participants in each condition was quite small - too small to be representative of all boys and so findings about the effects of observing an aggressive male model may not generalize to all boys
sample taken from a single nursery school, one attended by children of academics so makes sample unrepresentative of all nursey children and so findings about effects on children of observing aggression may not generalize to all children of nursery age. Sample only included children from America and so findings can’t be generalized to those outside of America

Question 24

practical applications

Answer 24

bandura showed negative impacts role models have on children’s behavior. Data gathered can be used practically in real life by having age limits on movies and games ensuring children are not exposed to aggressive content

Question 25

ethnocentrism

Answer 25

not all cultures will imitate aggression that they see. Children who live in a less violent society than America may see aggression but be less willing to imitate it because violence is not so common in their society. Findings can’t be applied to all cultural groups