Bandura Bobo Doll
The Bandura Bobo Doll experiment was conducted by psychologist Albert Bandura to study the effects of observational learning on aggressive behavior. Children who observed adults behaving aggressively towards a Bobo doll were more likely to imitate the behavior when given the opportunity to interact with the doll themselves. This experiment provided important insights into the role of social learning in shaping behavior.
7 Key excerpts on "Bandura Bobo Doll"
eBook - ePubDevelopmental Psychology
Revisiting the Classic Studies
- Alan M Slater, Paul C Quinn, Alan M Slater, Paul C Quinn(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
...For example, Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1963) themselves followed up on their initial study by conducting a similar study in which children watched a film of an adult model aggressing against a Bobo doll or a film that included an adult dressed as a cat with cartoon features aggressing against a Bobo doll. Children who had watched the films of aggressive acts were as likely to imitate the acts of aggression as were those children who had viewed the live model acting out the aggression, and all three experimental groups engaged in more aggressive behavior than the control group that had not witnessed an aggressive model. Along with questions regarding ethics, generalizability, and validity, some critics have questioned whether the Bobo doll study constitutes evidence regarding children’s imitation of aggression or merely behaviors the children regarded as play. This argument hinges on how aggression is defined. Contemporary researchers generally define aggression as an act perpetrated by one individual that is intended to cause physical, psychological, or social harm to another (Ostrov, Kamper-DeMarco, Blakely-McClure, Perry, & Mutignani, 2019). It is plausible that the intention to harm was missing from children’s imitative behaviors toward the Bobo doll, even if by their nature (e.g., kicking, hitting) they seem aggressive. Regardless of whether the children were engaging in aggressive acts with the intent to cause harm or merely playing, the main takeaway message remains the same. Namely, children can learn to engage in new behaviors by observing and imitating models, even if no rewards or punishments are attached to the behaviors. Conclusion: How the Study Advanced Thinking, but How Thinking has Subsequently Advanced B andura’s Bobo doll study advanced thinking beyond a behaviorist orientation to understanding that it is possible to learn aggression in the absence of rewards simply via observation and imitation of a model...
eBook - ePubMedia Theory for A Level
The Essential Revision Guide
- Mark Dixon(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...15 Media modelling effects Albert Bandura The exploration of aggression had been a point of interest for psychologists and philosophers long before Bandura introduced the world to his Bobo doll experiments. Sigmund Freud, for example, explained the origins of aggression as an innate and instinctive emotional response. Excessive masculine aggression, he reasoned, was present as a result of the male sex drive, suggesting that male aggression is driven by a latent fear of castration by our fathers. Post-war psychologists, too, looked inwards to explain the presence of aggression – some connecting outwardly violent behaviour to the genetic disposition of individuals or to hormonal imbalances. Even as late as 1965, the psychologist P.A. Jacobs argued that a disproportionate number of institutionalised men, those committed to prison or mental institutions, were born with an extra chromosome that produced hyper-masculine behaviours. Aggression, Jacobs reasoned, was genetic or the product of innate dispositions that were beyond the control of the individual. Bandura’s experiments, however, led him to a remarkably different set of conclusions and gave birth to a psychological school of thought that was later labelled ‘social learning theory’. Bandura’s research, in short, suggested that our behaviours are not governed by innate traits or genetic impulses but that our environments – the human environment in particular – shapes the way we behave. Concept 1: violent behaviours are learned through modelling Bandura’s psychological experiments led him to conclude that behaviours are acquired as a result of the following two processes: 1 Direct experience. Individuals, Bandura argued, learn or replicate aggressive acts as a result of their experiences of aggression...
eBook - ePubTheories of Development
Concepts and Applications
- William Crain(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Children observe aggressive models, notice when they are reinforced, and imitate accordingly. Bandura has examined this process in several experiments, one of which is now considered a classic. In this study (Bandura, 1965b), 4-year-olds individually watched a film in which an adult male model engaged in some moderately novel aggressive behavior. The model laid a Bobo doll 1 on its side, sat on it, and punched it, shouting such things as, “Pow, right in the nose,” and “Sockeroo … stay down” (pp. 590–591). Each child was assigned to one of three conditions, which meant that each child saw the same film but with different endings. 1. In the aggression-rewarded condition, the model was praised and given treats at the end of the film. A second adult called him a “strong champion” and gave him chocolate bars, soft drinks, and the like (p. 591). 2. In the aggression-punished condition, the model was called a “big bully,” swatted, and forced to cower away at the end of the film (p. 591). 3. In the third, no-consequences condition, the model received neither rewards nor punishments for his aggressive behavior. Immediately after the film, each child was escorted into a room with a Bobo doll and other toys. The experimenters observed the child through a one-way mirror to see how often he or she would imitate the aggressive model. The results indicated that those who had seen the model punished exhibited significantly fewer imitations than did those in the other two groups. Thus vicarious punishment reduced the imitation of aggressive responses. There was no difference between the aggression-rewarded and no-consequences groups. This is often the finding with respect to behavior, such as aggression, that is typically prohibited. The observation that “nothing bad happens this time” prompts imitation just as readily as does vicarious reward (Bandura, 1969, p. 239). The experiment also had a second, equally important phase...
- Amy E. Wenzel(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...In one condition, the aggressive adult model was called a champion and given a reward. In another condition, the children watched the aggressive adult get scolded for the aggressive behavior. In the control conditions, there was either a nonaggressive model or no model at all. At this point, the children were sent into another room containing many desirable toys and were informed that they were not allowed to play with these toys. The now frustrated children were then ushered into a second room containing different toys, including a Bobo doll. Bandura found that those children who had previously watched the adult model get rewarded for her aggression were more likely to imitate her aggressive behaviors, relative to the children who were not exposed to this rewarded adult model. Children who imitated the aggressive adult’s behaviors were also more likely to exhibit additional aggressive behaviors toward the Bobo doll that were not originally modeled by the adult. Thus, viewing another individual’s rewarded aggression likely results in an increased tendency to imitate the originally observed aggressive acts and also encourages inventive, new forms of aggression not originally exhibited by the model. This social learning of aggression has significant harmful effects outside the laboratory as well, including socially learned marital violence and bullying. Impact of Television on the Social Learning of Aggression When considering the amount of television violence watched by both adults and children, the practical implications of socially learned aggression are of tremendous consequence. Bandura’s research provides compelling evidence as to the impact of today’s violent media. Researchers have shown that when a group of children watch a violent show, they are more aggressive with playmates, relative to children who watched a nonviolent show...
- (Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
...The children were then allowed to play with the Bobo dolls themselves, and it was identified that the children were more likely to play aggressively with the dolls if the adult they had watched had also played aggressively with the doll. These results were also replicated in a later study, where children viewed either violent or non‐violent videos, and were then allowed to play with the Bobo doll. Children who viewed the violent videos were similarly more likely to play aggressively with the doll. These results thereby highlighted the role observation – of either interpersonal behavior, or through media images – plays in the modeling of behavior. In addition, these results suggest that (1) behavior can be learned solely through observation, and (2) the acquisition of this behavior does not require any additional reward or reinforcement. Based on his findings, Bandura also highlighted the cognitive processes – or principles – involved in the observation of behavior, which ultimately influence whether modeling of that behavior will occur. According to Bandura, there are four stages – or components – that are required for successful learning. First, individuals must attend to the behavior being modeled. Various characteristics – such as the novelty of the behavior, or its relevance – influence the likelihood that the observer will pay attention to it. Furthermore, it is quite likely that a behavior that is not attended to will not be imitated. Characteristics of the individual modeling the behavior – such as how closely the observer identifies with them – also influence whether the behavior will be attended to or not. For example, a female observer would be more likely to model behavior that is demonstrated by another female. Second, the retention of the behavior will influence how well it will be replicated. In other words, the degree to which the observer can remember the specifics of the behavior influences how well it is modeled...
- Edward S. Neukrug(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...They found that children whose parents modeled aggressive attitudes and punitive modes of social control in the family showed greater aggression toward their classmates in school. To test a hypothesis of vicarious learning of aggression along with a contrasting Freudian hypothesis based on catharsis, Bandura and two doctoral students, Dorrie and Sheila Ross, conducted experiments using the now classic inflated Bobo doll. According to a catharsis hypothesis, children’s identification with a modeled aggressor vicariously diminishes their aggressive drives and reduces their aggressive behavior. These researchers found that young children who viewed an aggressive model attack the Bobo doll in novel ways displayed higher levels of aggression than those in a no-model control group. These findings conflicted with the catharsis hypothesis. Exposure to an aggressive model increased aggression rather than decreased it. Furthermore, the children readily learned novel forms of aggression vicariously without performing them behaviorally or receiving rewards for imitation. These outcomes conflicted with instrumental conditioning views of social learning. This evidence that witnessing vicarious violence increased children’s aggression attracted the attention of U.S. congressional committees that were investigating the impact of televised violence on children’s aggression during the 1960s. Bandura’s first comprehensive description of his theory was presented in a 1977 book titled Social Learning Theory. It depicted human functioning triadically—involving reciprocal interactions between (1) personal (cognitive-affective), (2) behavioral, and (3) environmental components. People are both producers and products of their environments, and the effects of cognitive processes on behavior are also bidirectional...
eBook - ePub- Frank Adams(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Albert Bandura (1925-Present) Social Learning Theory—Behaviorism DOI: 10.4324/9781315054261-57 Selected Features Patterns of behavior are learned through observation. Using verbal/imagined symbols, experiences can be preserved for guiding anticipated further behavior. Should be able to control behavior through arranging environmental consequences and/or cognitive supports. Effects of Observation Can acquire new responses that did not previously exist. Can strengthen/weaken responses—positive/negative. Can serve as a platform for demonstration of learned responses—short/long term. Model Reinforced One demonstrating high status/prestige from the observer’s perspective. One controlling rewards or is rewarded for single event/behavior. One perceived as a peer—similar age, sex, intelligence, social status, sphere of influence. Imitation of Behavior Behavior has not been reinforced; individual lacks self-efficacy or self-esteem. Individual lacks the competence to model behavior. Behavior has been reinforced for matching idealized response. Individual is independent of environmental influences. Behavior is observed as being a model to perceived self-concept or self-image. Demonstration of Consequence of Behavior Clearly identify appropriate behavior/response. Clearly identify appropriate time/place/event for behavior/response. Motivation is necessary to. imitate/not imitate a behavior. Modeling Observe effect of model being imitated. Identify code(s) and symbols reflected. Individual can reproduce behavior. Positively/negatively reinforce behavior. Adapted from Bandura, A. (1969). Social learning and personality development. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston....
