Social Learning theory- Bandura - Bobo Doll

The 4 Hypothesis of Bobo Doll Experiment

1. Children exposed to an adult behaving aggressively towards a toy will imitate this behavior in the absence of the model. 2. Children exposed to a non-aggressive model will show less aggressive behavior. 3. Children will imitate same-sex models more than opposite-sex models. 4. Boys may be predisposed to imitate more aggressive behavior than girls.

What were the 3 response measures of Bobo Doll Experiment?

1. Imitation of physical aggression, 2. Imitation of verbal aggression, 3. Imitative non-agressive verbal responses

How long was the observation for before the experimenter moved the child to the next room in Bobo doll Experiment?

10 minutes

How long was the child in the third room for in Bobo Doll Experiment?

20 minutes

Conditions of Bobo Doll Experiment

3 conditions; Aggressive, Non-aggressive, Control

How many rooms were used in Bobo Doll Experiment?

3 rooms: 1. Modelling 2. Aggression Arousal 3. Test for Delayed imitation

How were the children grouped in Bobo Doll Experiment

72 children 36 boys and girls 12 in aggressive, 12 in non-aggressive, 12 in control groups 6 girls nonaggressive female/male, 6 girls aggressive female/male, 6 boys nonaggressive female/male, 6 boys aggressive female/male

Sample Size of Bobo Doll Experiment

72 children between 37 to 69 months (36 boys and 36 girls) from Stanford University Nursery school

Experimental Design of Bobo Doll Experiment

A matched pairs design (independent measures)

What were some limitations in the Bobo Doll Experiment?

Because of the fact that everything was set up and staged, the experiment had low ecological validity. Meaning that it could not be compared to the results you would get in real life. The study could also be argued to be unethical, as this could have caused long-term consequences of the study and also the fact that the children were taken from the nursery school without permission from the parents.

Dependent Variable of Bobo Doll Experiment

Behavior of the children

What was the second room used for in Bobo Doll Experiment?

Mild aggression arousal, the child was allowed to play with attractive toys but as soon as the child got relatively involved, the experimenter told the child that these were their best toys and she had decided to save them for the other children.

What was the first room used for in Bobo Doll Experiment?

Modeling, a child was sent in and also a model. The child was given material to produce paintings while the model sat in an opposite corner with a 5-foot bobo doll, mallet, and tinker-toy set. In nonaggressive conditions, the bobo doll was ignored. In aggressive conditions, the bobo doll was acted towards aggressively, with easily imitated actions and words.

Independent Variable of Bobo Doll Experiment

Sex of child, Sex of model, Behavior of model

What were the verbally aggressive responses used by the models in Bobo Doll Experiment?

Sock him in the nose, Hit him down, Throw him in the air, Kick him, Pow

What was the third room used for in Bobo doll Experiment?

Test for delayed imitation, there were non-aggressive toys (tea set, crayons, 3 bears, plastic farm animals) and aggressive toys (mallet and peg board, dart gun, 3-foot bobo doll).

Results Of Bobo Doll Experiment

The children who observed aggressive models made more imitative aggressive responses than those in non-aggressive or control groups. There were more partial and non-imitative aggression from children who observed aggressive behavior, although the difference for non-imitative aggression was small. Girls in aggressive conditions also showed more physical aggressive responses if the model was female (except for how often they bunch Bobo, where the effects of gender were reversed). Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls. The evidence for girls doing the same wasn't strong. Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls. There was little difference in verbal aggression between boys and girls.

What were the physically aggressive responses used by the models in Bobo Doll Experiment?

The model put the doll on its side, struck it with the mallet, tossed it in the air, kicked round the room.

What was the conclusion made In Bobo Doll Experiment?

The results proved Bandura's Social Learning Theory to be true, and that children learn social behavior through observational learning.

How did the researchers pre-test the children in Bobo Doll Experiment?

They observed the children in the nurseries and rated the aggressive behavior on 4 5-point scales.