Aim
- To find out if children would show more aggressive behaviour if exposed to an aggressive role model and less aggressive if exposed to a non-aggressive role model
- To see if the sex of the role model and the children made a difference, specifically to see if the children were more likely to imitate a same sex role model and if boys were more aggressive than girls
Hypothesis – 4 Predictions
- Children exposed to aggressive models will reproduce the aggressive acts seen
- Children exposed to non-aggressive models will reproduce non-aggressive acts
- Children will imitate the behaviour of a same sex model to a greater degree than a model of the opposite sex
- Boys will be more predisposed than girls towards imitating aggression
Procedure
- Sample: 36 boys, 36 girls aged 37 – 69 months (mean = 52 months)
- Subjects in the experimental and control groups were matched individually on the basis of ratings of their aggressive behaviour in social interactions in the nursey school – matched pairs design
6
girls
6
girls
6
girls
6
boys
6
boys
6
boys
6
girls
6
boys
Male
Male
Female
Female
24 control group, no model
24 non aggressive role models
24 aggressive role models
72 children
Three Independent Variables:
- The condition the children were exposed to
- Sex of the role model
- Sex of the child
Procedure
Stage One: children were brought to the experimental room by experimenter which was set out for play. Model entered room and after they were seated, experimenter left the room.
Non-Aggressive Condition: model ignored Bobo and assembled the tinker-toys in quiet, gentle manner
Aggressive Condition: model began by assembling the tinker-toys but after one minute turned to Bobo and was aggressive to the doll in a very stylised and distinctive way
After 10 minutes, children were taken into a new room
Stage Two: experimenter told the child they were the best toys and let them play
Stage Three: collection of aggressive toys (mallet, dart guns etc.) and non-aggressive toys (tea set, crayons, ball etc.) in third room. Kept in this room for 20 minutes. Observations were made at 5 second intervals so 240 response units were recorded for each child.
Three Measurements of Imitation
- Imitation of physical aggression
- Imitation of verbal aggression
- Imitation of non-aggressive verbal responses
Results
- More aggressive response in aggressive model condition
- Boys were more aggressive than girls (Boys:8 acts, Girls: 5.5 acts)
- Boys more aggressive with male model
- Girls showed more physical aggression with male model and verbal aggression with female model