Transcript 3 Bandura Ross and Ross Core study

Psychology
3 Core study
Transmission of aggression through imitation
of aggressive models
Albert Bandura, Dorothea Ross and
Sheila A. Ross
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Aim
• to see if imitated behaviour would be displayed
in new settings
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Background
• Bandura and Huston (1961) found that children
imitated behaviour exhibited by an adult
model.
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Hypotheses
1. Subjects exposed to aggressive models would
reproduce aggressive acts resembling those of
their models.
2. Observation of non-aggressive models would
inhibit aggressive behaviour.
3. Subjects will imitate the behaviour of a samesex model more than model of the opposite
sex.
4. Boys would display more aggression than
girls.
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Method
• laboratory experiment with controlled
observation
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Independent variables
• whether children observe model or not
• whether children observe aggressive or not
aggressive model
• whether children observe same or opposite sex
model
• gender of child
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Dependent variables (1)
• Number of aggressive acts
• imitation of physical aggression
• e.g. striking Bobo with mallet
• imitative verbal aggression
• e.g. saying ‘Sock him!’
• imitative non-aggressive verbal responses
• e.g. saying ‘He sure is a tough fella.’
• sitting on Bobo doll
• sits on Bobo doll but is not aggressive with it
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Dependent variables (2)
• mallet aggression
• e.g. striking object other than Bobo doll with
mallet
• non-imitative aggression
• e.g. punches Bobo doll
• non-imitative physical and verbal aggression
• aggressive gun play
• Number of the times they were observed
(behaviour units) in which children played nonaggressively or sat quietly and did not play at all.
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Participants
• 72 children from Stanford University nursery
school
• 36 boys and 36 girls
• age range 37–69 months
• mean age 52 months
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Procedure
• Children were observed in nursery by a male
model and a teacher and given an aggression
rating on physical and verbal aggressions,
aggressive inhibition and aggression toward
inanimate objects.
• Children were divided into eight groups of 6
plus a control group of 24.
• They were matched on age, gender and
aggression rating.
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Stage 1
10 minutes
• Children in experimental group were taken
by an adult to a room and invited by role
model to come in and play.
• The child was sat at a table with potato
prints and stickers.
• Model was taken to corner of room with the
Bobo doll (5 foot), mallet and a tinker toy.
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Stage 1 cont (1)
• In the non-aggressive condition
• the adult played with the tinker toys.
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Stage 1 cont (2)
• In aggressive condition
• the adult began assembling tinker toys
• after one minute the adult began being aggressive with
Bobo doll:
• three repetitions of
• laying Bobo doll down, sitting on it and hitting its
nose
• raising Bobo up and hitting it with the mallet
• throwing Bobo up and kicking it around the room
• this was interspersed with verbally aggressive
responses
• ‘Sock him in the nose’, ‘Kick him’, ‘He sure is
a tough fella’.
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Stage 2
2 minutes approximately
• The child was taken by experimenter to a second
room.
• There were lots of attractive toys:
• fire engine, doll set, jet fighter plane, doll’s
pram
• Child was told by experimenter he/she could play.
• As soon as child involved, the experimenter told
child they were best toys and they were reserved
for other children.
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Stage 3
20 minutes
• The child was taken to room not in nursery
with variety of toys:
•e.g. Bobo doll (3 foot), mallet, dart gun,
tea set, crayons, farm animals.
• Child was observed through one-way mirror
every 5 seconds by male model and one other
researcher.
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Results
Hypothesis 1
• Subjects exposed to aggressive models
produced significantly more aggressive acts
than non-aggressive and control groups.
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Results
Hypothesis 2
• Boys who observed non-aggressive models produced
significantly less aggression than control group boys.
• No significant differences for girls
• Subjects in non-aggressive condition showed
significantly more non-aggressive play with dolls
than either aggressive or control.
• Subjects in non-aggressive condition spend more
than twice as much time sitting quietly and not
playing than in the aggressive condition.
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Results
Hypothesis 3
• Subjects did imitate the behaviour of samesex model more than model of opposite sex.
•Boys showed more imitation of male
models
•Girls showed more imitative verbal and
more non-imitative aggression of female
models.
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Results
Hypothesis 4
• Boys did display more imitative physical
aggression than girls.
•No difference in verbal aggression
•Boys played significantly more with guns
and less with tea set, dolls and colouring.
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Conclusions
1. Subjects exposed to aggressive models did
reproduce aggressive acts resembling those of their
models.
2. Observation of non-aggressive models did inhibit
aggressive behaviour.
3. Subjects did generally imitate the behaviour of
same-sex model more than model of opposite sex.
However, both boys and girls imitated male model’s
aggression more than female model’s aggression.
4. Boys did display more physical aggression than girls.
Psychology
Controls
• Adults
• One male and one female served the role of model.
• One experimenter conducted the study of 72
children.
• Toys
• All toys in stage 3 were arranged in a fixed order.
• Observation
• Inter-rater reliability of observers was checked by
correlation.
• There was a one-way mirror.
• Blind condition: observers didn’t know the condition
the child was in (apart from male model in cases
where he was model).