Bobo Doll Experiment

Social Development
Key Study: Bandura, Ross & Ross

(1961)
Transmission of aggression
through imitation of aggressive
models
What makes a child
aggressive?
Nature vs Nurture
The Study
 Aim: to find out if children imitate aggressive behaviour – even

when in a different environment and without the model present.
 Hypotheses:
1. Children will imitate the aggressive behaviour of models
2. Non-aggressive models will have an inhibiting effect
3. Same-sex model will have more influence
4. Boys will imitate aggression more than girls

The Study
 Laboratory experiment with observation.

 36 boys and 36 girls from Stanford University
Nursery School.
 Aged 37-69 months (approx 3-5 years) with a
mean age of 52 months (4⅓ years).
The Study
First IV; Role model

• Non-aggressive model
• Aggressive model
• No model (control group)
The Study
Second IV; Gender of role model

• Male role model
• Female role model
The Study
Third IV; Whether pp are male or female

• Male
• Female
Sample
72 children
24 Aggressive 24 Control group

role model
24 Non-aggressive
role model
Male
6 boys
Male Female Female

6 girls 6 boys 6 girls Female
Male Male Female 6 girls
6 boys 6 girls 6 boys
Room 1
Tinker Toy Set
Tinker set that

non-aggressive
model plays with
Room 2
Room 3
Observations
 Watched the child for 20 mins through

one-way mirror.
 Male model and independent observer
watched (the latter was blind to the
child’s condition).
 Recorded categories every 5 seconds
(240 observations for each child).
Dependent Variable
1. Imitative aggression responses:

• Physical: Any acts imitated – e.g. striking
Bobo with mallet, sitting on it & punching
it in the nose, throwing it in the air
• Verbal: Phrases imitated – “Pow”, “Sock
him”, “Hit him down”, “Kick him”, “Throw
him in the air”
Dependent Variable
2. Partially imitative responses:

• Mallet aggression: Using mallet on
other toys.
• Sitting/bouncing on Bobo doll.
Dependent Variable
3. Non-imitative aggressive
response:
• Slapping/punching Bobo doll.
• Non-imitative physical and verbal
aggression.
• Aggressive gun play.
Bandura’s study
http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/videos/vi
ew/20005/
The Study
 Aim: to find out if children imitate aggressive behaviour – even

when in a different environment and without the model present.
 Hypotheses:
1. Children will imitate the aggressive behaviour of models.
2. Non-aggressive models will have an inhibiting effect.
3. Same-sex model will have more influence.
4. Boys will imitate aggression more than girls

Aggressive and non-aggressive
conditions
Model
Behaviour Aggressive Non-aggressive Control
Imitative Physical 50.9 4.2 3.2
Imitative Verbal 32.7 1.4 2.4
Mallet 80.2 26.4 26.6
Non-imitative 82.6 57.0 30.7

Subject and model – same or
different sex
Model
M/M=25.8 M/F=12.4 M/M=1.5 M/F=0.2

M=2.0 F=1.2
Imitative Physical F/F=5.5 F/M=7.2 F/F=2.5 F/M=0.0
M/M=12.7 M/F=4.3 M/M=0.0 M/F=1.1

M=2.0 F=1.2
Imitative Verbal F/F=13.7 F/M=2.0 F/F=0.3 F/M=0.0
M/M=28.8 M/F=15.5 M/M=6.7 M/F=18.7

M=13.5 F=13.1
Mallet F/F=17.2 F/M=18.7 F/F=0.5 F/M=0.5
M/M=36.6 M/F=16.2 M/M=22.3 M/F=26.1

M=24.6 F=6.1
Non-imitative F/F=21.3 F/M=8.4 F/F=7.2 F/M=1.4
Boys vs. girls
Model
Imitative Physical ♂=38.2 ♀=12.7 ♂=1.7 ♀=2.5 ♂=2.0 ♀=1.2
Imitative Verbal ♂=17.0 ♀=15.7 ♂=1.1 ♀=0.3 ♂=1.7 ♀=0.7
Mallet ♂=44.3 ♀=35.9 ♂=25.4 ♀=1.0 ♂=13.5 ♀=13.1
Non-imitative ♂=52.9 ♀=29.7 ♂=48.4 ♀=8.6 ♂=24.6 ♀=6.1

Results
 Children who observed the aggressive models made far more

aggressive responses than the other 2 groups. This was found
for all 3 measures (imitative, partial and non-imitative).
 Boys showed more physical aggression, girls showed more

verbal aggression.
 Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models but both

sexes tended to imitate the same-sex models.
Analysis
 This study supports Bandura’s Social

Learning Theory as children did observe
and directly imitate the behaviours.
 The results contrast with instinct theory
(Freud), i.e. ‘nature’
Conclusions
 Is this clear evidence that aggression is

learned as behaviourists would argue?
Think of arguments FOR and AGAINST social learning theory
Sample
 Equal number of girls/boys

 Matched children across 3 conditions by
pre-testing aggression
× Only one area/nursery – ethnocentric

× Only looked at young children – would
older children imitate to the same
degree?
Ethics
 Protection – was it right to subject the

children to the aggressive condition?
 Consent – children are unable to
provide consent/fully understand
experiment.
 Debriefing – how would you debrief a
child?
Strengths of method
 High control over variables – i.e. actions

by role model, toys in room…
 Use of lab exp means children can be
reliably compared between conditions.
 Observed real situation so real
behaviour (high ecological validity).
 Inter-coder reliability (correlation r=.89)
Weaknesses of method
× Low ecological validity – how realistic

was the “aggressive” situation? Would
they show aggression towards an adult?
× Male model one of the observers –
could be biased.
Evaluation
 Small sample size (BUT pre-testing and

matching across conditions)
 Bobo doll is exciting, different, and
designed for such treatment. Was that
behaviour really ‘aggression’?
 Long-term effects? (Hicks, 1965, says
yes: 40% 6-8 months later)
Application
 Is aggression preventable? - primary

schools, prisons?
 Can learning occur without behaviour?
 Disinhibition: punishing a ‘naughty’ child,

the adult models more aggression
Application
 Phobia therapy - +ve/-ve reinforcement

 Parent training
 Media – films, computer games
Other material
 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sJthPwb4yMQ&feature=relate
Watson & Rayner (1920) – Little Albert – 2 minutes
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15HncOVohTo
Skinner – Operant conditioning – (from 0:50 to 2:18)

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Social Development

Key Study: Bandura, Ross & Ross

 Aim: to find out if children imitate aggressive behaviour – even

1. Children will imitate the aggressive behaviour of models

2. Non-aggressive models will have an inhibiting effect

3. Same-sex model will have more influence

4. Boys will imitate aggression more than girls

 Laboratory experiment with observation.

First IV; Role model

Second IV; Gender of role model

Third IV; Whether pp are male or female

24 Aggressive 24 Control group

Male Female Female

Tinker set that

 Watched the child for 20 mins through

1. Imitative aggression responses:

2. Partially imitative responses:

 Aim: to find out if children imitate aggressive behaviour – even

1. Children will imitate the aggressive behaviour of models.

2. Non-aggressive models will have an inhibiting effect.

3. Same-sex model will have more influence.

4. Boys will imitate aggression more than girls

Behaviour Aggressive Non-aggressive Control

Imitative Physical 50.9 4.2 3.2

Imitative Verbal 32.7 1.4 2.4

Mallet 80.2 26.4 26.6

Non-imitative 82.6 57.0 30.7

Behaviour Aggressive Non-aggressive Control

M/M=25.8 M/F=12.4 M/M=1.5 M/F=0.2

M/M=12.7 M/F=4.3 M/M=0.0 M/F=1.1

M/M=28.8 M/F=15.5 M/M=6.7 M/F=18.7

M/M=36.6 M/F=16.2 M/M=22.3 M/F=26.1

Behaviour Aggressive Non-aggressive Control

Imitative Physical ♂=38.2 ♀=12.7 ♂=1.7 ♀=2.5 ♂=2.0 ♀=1.2

Imitative Verbal ♂=17.0 ♀=15.7 ♂=1.1 ♀=0.3 ♂=1.7 ♀=0.7

Mallet ♂=44.3 ♀=35.9 ♂=25.4 ♀=1.0 ♂=13.5 ♀=13.1

Non-imitative ♂=52.9 ♀=29.7 ♂=48.4 ♀=8.6 ♂=24.6 ♀=6.1

 Children who observed the aggressive models made far more

 Boys showed more physical aggression, girls showed more

 Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models but both

 This study supports Bandura’s Social

 Is this clear evidence that aggression is

 Equal number of girls/boys

× Only one area/nursery – ethnocentric

 Protection – was it right to subject the

 High control over variables – i.e. actions

× Low ecological validity – how realistic

 Small sample size (BUT pre-testing and

 Is aggression preventable? - primary

 Can learning occur without behaviour?

 Disinhibition: punishing a ‘naughty’ child,

 Phobia therapy - +ve/-ve reinforcement

Watson & Rayner (1920) – Little Albert – 2 minutes

Skinner – Operant conditioning – (from 0:50 to 2:18)

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