AICE Psychology AS - Learning Approach Studies

Describe the hypothesis of Bandura's study

- Observed aggressive behavior will be imitated, so children seeing aggressive models will be more aggressive than those seeing a non-aggressive or no model - Children are more likely to copy a same sex model - Boys will be more likely to copy aggression than girls - 1 more

Weaknesses of Bandura's study

- Only 6 children used in each experimental condition - Sample from same Stanford University (parents are academically able) = potential biased sample = lowered validity - Children become more aggressive after imitation = Ethical issues

Strengths of S&S's study

- Participant was studied over time, several methods of data collection = high validity - Collected both qualitative (interview) and quantitative (Feelings Thermometer) data - Boy's anonymity was maintained

Weaknesses of S&S's study

- Small sample size, participant had a specific phobia = difficult to generalize - Patient created his own hierarchy, personal ratings = subjective - Case study = higher risk researcher bias = lowered validity - Boy knew he was undergoing therapy to improve his phobic symptoms = demand characterisitcs - Child participant = ethical issues

Describe procedure in Bandura's study

1. Participants were observed in their nursery school (and rated on four 5-point scales for physical aggression, verbal aggression, aggression to inanimate objects, and aggression inhibition) 2. 12 F & 12 M allocated into control groups 3. Remainder assigned by sex, aggression levels, and models (same or opposite sex) 4. Participants were deliberately mildly annoyed 5. Treatment varied between groups: - Non-aggressive condition: model assembled Tinkertoys for 10 mins - Aggressive condition: model assembled Tinkertoys for 1 min, model then attacked Bobo doll *Bobo doll was sat on, punched with a mallet, pinched in the nose w/ aggressive commands - Control group: no model (and therefore no aggression 6. Child was observed for 20 mins. using a 1-way mirror (observing aggression); measured imitation using predefined behaviors in categories - Scored by 1 M; then independently scored by another M (inter-rater reliability was 0.9)

Describe the sample in Bandura's study

72 children ages 3-6 yrs. old (36 M, 36 F) obtained from the Stanford University nursery school

Describe sample in S&S's study

9-yr. old Hispanic American boy - Met criteria for phobia of buttons - Experiencing symptoms about 4 yrs. prior to the start of the study

Describe S&S's experimental design

Case study

Describe Bandura's experimental design

Laboratory experiment; independent measures

Describe DV in Bandura's study

Learning the child displayed (measured through controlled observation & recorded measures of aggressive behavior)

Describe results in S&S's study

Positive reinforcement therapy - Successful completion of all exposure tasks in the fear hierarchy - Behavior towards fearful stimuli improved, but disgust, fear, and anxiety increased Imagery exposure therapy - Successful in reducing body's rating of distress *At 6 month and 12 month follow ups, the participant reported feeling minimal distress about buttons // His feelings towards buttons no longer affected his normal functioning

How was data collected in S&S's study?

Self-report measures - boy and his mom were interviewed by researchers about the onset of his phobia & his subsequent behavior 9-point scale of disgust - "Feelings Thermometer"

Describe the aim of Saavedra & Silverman's study (button phobia)

to examine the role of classical conditioning in relation to fear and avoidance of a specific stimulus - Specifically, researchers wanted to see if exposure therapy could reduce the disgust and distress associated with buttons

Describe the aim of Bandura's study (aggression)

to investigate whether a child would learn aggression by observing a model (and would repeat aggressive behavior in absence of the model) & whether the sex of the role model was important

Describe conclusions in Bandura's study

- All hypotheses supported (4) - Suggests imitation & observation for the learning of specific acts without need for reinforcement

Describe results in Bandura's study

- Children exposed to aggressive models imitated their exact behaviors and were significantly more aggressive than children in other groups - Aggressive effect greater on boys than girls - Boys more likely to imitate physical aggression; girls more likely to imitate verbal aggression - Boys more likely to imitate same sex model

Conclusions from S&S's study

- Emotions relating to disgust are important when learning new responses to phobic stimuli - Imagery exposure can have a long term effect on reducing the distress w/ specific phobias

Describe IVs in Bandura's study

- Model type: whether the child saw an aggressive, non-aggressive, or no model - Model gender: same gender as child or different gender - Learner gender: whether observer (child) was a boy or a girl

Strengths of Bandura's study

- Lab experiment = possible to control extraneous variables - Children's behaviors were standardized = increased validity, increased reliability - High inter-observer reliability - Pretesting of child's aggressiveness = increased validity - DV was measured through observation through 1-way mirror = demand characteristics reduced & increased validity

Describe procedure in S&S's study

1. Informed consent was obtained from boy and mother 2. Interview to determine any trauma that could have caused button phobia 3. Researchers created a hierarchy of feared stimuli (participant was most fearful of small plastic buttons) 4. 1st method of treatment: contingency management - Form of pos. reinforcement therapy - Boy is rewarded for showing less fear & handling buttons 5. 2nd method of treatment: imagery exposure - Disgust associated imagery in combination with cognitive self-control - Participant asked to imagine buttons falling on him, describe their smell, etc. - Exposures progressed according to the boy's fear hierarchy