Bandura and Ross

Bandura and Ross

Bandura and Ross (1961)

Experimental investigation on learning aggression from a model

Aim:

To see if children would imitate the aggression of an adult model and whether they would imitate same-sex models more than opposite sex models.

Procedure:

  • Participants were 36 boys and 36 girls from the Stanford University Nursery School (mean age 4.4) who were divided into three groups matched on levels of aggressiveness before the experiment.
  • One group saw the adult model behave aggressively towards a bobo doll, one group saw the model assemble toys, and the last group served as control.
  • The children were further divided into groups so that some saw same-sex models and some opposite-sex models.
  • The laboratory was set up as a play room with toys and a bobo doll. The model either played with the toys or behaved aggressively towards the bobo doll. After seeing this, the children were brought into a room with toys and told not to play with them in order to frustrate them. Then they were taken into a room with toys and a bobo doll where they were observed for 20 minutes through a one-way mirror.

Results:

 

  • Children who had seen an aggressive model were significantly more aggressive (physically and verbally) towards the bobo doll. They imitated the aggressive behavior of the model but also showed other forms of aggression.
  • Children were also more likely to imitate same-sex models. Boys were more aggressive overall than girls.

Discussion of results:

 

  • This key study supports social learning theory. Aggressive behavior can be learned through observational learning.
  • It is not possible to conclude that children always become aggressive when they watch violent models (e.g. on television or at home). Generally, research supports that children tend to imitate same-sex models more and this is also the case for adults.

Evaluation:

The laboratory experiment is low in ecological validity. The aggression here is artificial and there may be demand characteristics. The children were very young and it has been criticized for ethical reasons.