Bandura -1961

Question 1

Define aggression

Answer 1

Feelings of anger or antipathy resulting in hostile or violent behaviour readiness to attack or confront

Question 2

Define imitation

Answer 2

The action of using someone or something as a model

Question 3

What is matched pairs design?

Answer 3

An experimental design where pairs of a Ps are matched in terms of key variables such as age or IQ and one is placed in a group and the other is put in separate groups

Question 4

Define behaviourism

Answer 4

A theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning and conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment

Question 5

What is the background of bandera’s study on transmission of aggression?

Answer 5

It is a study that looks at how aggressive behaviour develops in children. It has attracted a lot of attention from many subject areas. One issue that arises in this study is whether aggression is an innate feature of behaviour

Question 6

What is social learning theory?

Answer 6

An approach to understanding behaviour through the imitation of role models

Question 7

Define vicarious reinforcement

Answer 7

An individual observes another person (a model)behave in a certain way and experience a consequence perceived as desirable by the observer as a result, the observer behaves in the same way as the model did

Question 8

What are the 4 meditational processes?

Answer 8

• Attention: dedicated focus on something consciously
• Retention: how well they keep hold of something in their long -term /short - term memory
• Motor reproduction: The process of reproduction behaviours seen form a role model imitating process
• Motivation: the anticipation of getting a reward

Question 9

What was the aim of Bandura‘s study?

Answer 9

If children were passive witness to an aggressive display by an adult they would imitate this aggressive behaviour when given the opportunity and when the model is absent

Question 10

What were the hypotheses for this study?

Answer 10

• subjects exposed to aggressive models will reproduce agressive acts resembling those models
• the observation of non aggressive models will inhibit the children’s behaviour and they would display less aggression than control groups who do not witness any model
• subjects will imitate the behaviour of a same sex model to a greater degree than a model of the opposite sex
• boys will show more agression than girls particularly in the male agressive model condition

Question 11

What research method was used ?

Answer 11

A controlled lab experiment was used for manipulate various independent variables

Question 12

What was the sample used in the study?

Answer 12

36 boys and 36 girls between 37 and 69 months from the Stanford university nursery. Parents had given consent for their children to be used in the study.

Question 13

What was the sampling technique?

Answer 13

Opportunity sampling

Question 14

How did Bandura test for pre-existing levels of aggression?

Answer 14

The children was observed by a nursery worker and an experimenter who knew children well and were rated out of five on each of the above scales ( physical, verbal aggression and aggression towards inanimate objects and aggressive inhibitions ) Bandura then wanted to check the inter- rater reliability of the scores given to each child . The children were out into groups of three with the same agression rating . They were then randomly allocated to one of the model conditions. Matched pairs design was used

Question 15

What experimental design was used ?

Answer 15

Matched pairs design

Question 16

What else were children matched on other then aggression rating?

Answer 16

Gender

Question 17

What were the three major conditions?

Answer 17

• the control group ( not exposed to the model)
• the group exposed to an aggressive model
• the group exposed to the Passive ( none - aggressive model)

Question 18

How many children were in each condition?

Answer 18

24 with 4 models each ( the same one)

Question 19

What are advantages of matched pairs design?

Answer 19

• reduced participants variables
• no order effects

Question 20

What are two advantages of matched pairs design?

Answer 20

• time consuming
• difficult

Question 21

What were the independent variables of the study?

Answer 21

• whether model was aggressive
• gender of model
• gender of participant

Question 22

What happens in stage 1?

Answer 22

• children were taken individually taken into a room and sat a table with potato prints and picture stickers for 10 mins
• whilst the agressive model began to assemble a tinker toy set but after about 1 minute turned to the boob doll and spent to rest of the time physically and verbally aggressing it using a standardised procedure
• the non aggressive model assembled the tinker toys in a quiet subdued manner totally ignoring the bobo doll
• ** the control group** didn’t part in phase one

Question 23

What took place In stage 2 of the experiment?

Answer 23

All the children were then taken individually to an anteroom and subjected to mild aggression arousal - they were presented with needles toys but told for 2 mins they couldn’t play with them.

Question 24

What happened in stage 3 of the experiment?

Answer 24

• children were taken individually into a third room which contained both aggressive and non agressive toys eg, mallet , guns and darts, tea set, cars bobo doll
• they observed for 20 minutes through a one way mirror

Question 25

What behaviours did they record in stage 3?

Answer 25

• imitative aggression (physical / verbal) - pow or hitting the bobo On the head with the mallet
• partially imitated aggression (verbal/physical) - he keeps coming back for more or sitting on the bobo doll without hitting it and using the mallet to hit toys other than Bobo
• non imitated aggression (verbal/ physical) - punching, slapping, pushing bobo saying aggressive that don’t relate to what the model has said or aggressive gun play
• non - aggressive behaviours (verbal/ physical) - sitting quietly , not playing at all

Question 26

What was 4 findings from the study?

Answer 26

-The children in the aggressive model condition made more aggressive responses than the children in the non-aggressive model condition and control condition. These responses were mostly imitated ones from the model, such as hitting the Bobo doll on the head with a mallet.
-Boys made more aggressive responses than girls in that the quantity of imitated aggression was higher for boys than girls, as predicted. They were also more generally aggressive.
-The boys in the aggressive model conditions showed more aggressive responses if the model was male than if the model was female, showing more same-sex imitation.
-The girls in the aggressive model conditions showed more physical aggressive responses if the model was male but more verbal aggressive responses if the model was female.

Question 27

What conclusions can be made from the study?

Answer 27

• The findings support Bandura’s social learning theory: children learn best social behaviour such as aggression through the process of observation learning
• Children don’t learn simply through consequences of reward and punishment as there was no consequences to the children behaviour

Question 28

What are the three main advantages of the controlled laboratory experimental method?

Answer 28

• This method is the only means by which cause and effect can established
• This method can be replicated
• This study yield quantitative data, which can be easily analysed

Question 29

What are disadvantages of controlled laboratory experiment method i?

Answer 29

• They are not ecologically valid
• Controlled laboratory studies often only look at behaviour for a short space of time and don’t look at the long-term effects -snapshot
• Could lack internal validity- it may not be measuring their imitative aggression, just imitated play behaviour because it lacks mundane realism
• unethical

Question 30

How can these results be applicated in real life?

Answer 30

Certification of films, toys , books etc