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PSYCH SOCIOCULTURAL APPROACH (THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE GROUP ((BANDURA, ROSS…
PSYCH SOCIOCULTURAL APPROACH
THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE GROUP
BANDURA, ROSS AND ROSS (1961) TRANSMISSION OF AGGRESSION THROUGH IMITATION OF AGGRESSIVE ROLE MODELS
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Bandura, Ross and Ross were influenced by previous research that demonstrated that children could learn incidentally through the mere observation of another. They were interested in sex-appropriate behaviour.
AIM:
To see if children would imitate aggression that was role-played by an observed adult. Researchers were specifically interested in whether the sex of the role model and sex of the child would be an important factor in whether a child would imitate aggression or not.
PROCEDURE:
36 boys and 36 girls between 37-69 months recruited from Stanford University Nursery School.
Divided into 9 groups; 8 were experimental - 1 was control (did not observe model).
Four of the experimental groups were exposed to a non-aggressive model. They were further divided into male and female children who observed either a male or female model.
All the children were allocated to conditions to ensure each group was equally matched regarding aggression. Rated for aggression from observations of their behaviour by an experimenter and teacher in nursery school.
A female experimenter brough each child individually to an experimental room at the nursery and placed them at a table in the corner to play with toys.
The experimenter invited the role model in the room and play with toys (Bobo Doll) in the opposite corner.
The experimenter left the room and the model began playing with the toys.
In the aggressive condition, after 1 minute, the model played aggressively with the inflatable Bobo doll. The model punched the doll on the nose, tossed and kicked the doll and used a mallet to strike it. During the assault, the model repeated aggressive phrases like “Kick him” and “Pow”.
After 10 minutes, the model left the room. Each child was taken to a different room and were allowed to play with more toys. The toys were highly attractive, but the child was told after 2 minutes that they were not to play with it anymore. This was to ensure that the initial exposure to aggression did not prevent children from displaying aggression.
Each child was taken into the adjacent room that had toys that they were allowed to play with. The room had non-aggressive toys and the Bobo doll.
Each child remained in the room for 20 minutes, where their behaviour was observed and recorded. The results were analysed a 5-second intervals and any behaviour (physical and verbal), aggressive or nonaggressive was recorded.
The behaviour also classified as ‘imitative’, for any behaviour that the child copied directly from the role model, or ‘non-imitative’, for any non-observed behaviour the child showed.
RESULTS:
Children who were exposed to the aggressive role model, whether male or female, displayed more aggression than the control group or children exposed to the non-aggressive role model. Suggests that children imitate aggression. True for both physical and verbal aggression. Kids also displayed non-imitative aggression, suggesting that they were devising new ways of being aggressive.
Boys were more likely to copy the same-sex aggressive role model for physical aggression.
Girls were equally as likely as boys to imitate verbal aggression of a same-sex role model.
Girls spent significantly more time playing with dolls and the tea set, rather than boys who played with toy guns.
CONCLUSION:
The research showed that children learn through observation in the absence of reinforcement, and provided experimental evidence for social learning theory. Shows that children learn aggression from adult role models, particularly if the model was of the same sex as the child. This process of imitation occurred with a model unknown to the child, so aggression could be copied from any other aggressor.
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON INDIVIDUALS ATTITUDES, IDENTITY AND BEHAVIOURS
CULTURAL ORIGINS OF BEHAVIOUR AND COGNITION