The Bobo Doll experiments:

1. The Bobo Doll experiments: Bandura�s social modelling approach to aggression

3. Theoretical background: behaviourism The behaviourist approach to experimentation Main theorists: Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura The Bobo Doll experiment Evaluation Implications of the Bobo Doll experiment Research on the impact of TV: tackling confounding variables Outline:

4. Watson, J.B. (1913) � Psychology as the behaviorist views it (Behaviourist Manifesto) [Psychology] failed signally, I believe, during the fifty-odd years of its existence as an experimental discipline to make its place in the world as an undisputed natural science.[...] The time seems to have come when psychology must discard all reference to consciousness; when it need no longer delude itself into thinking that it is making mental states the object of observation.[�] I believe we can write a [new] psychology [�]and never go back upon our definition: never use the terms consciousness, mental states, mind, content, introspectively verifiable, imagery, and the like. [�] It can be done in terms of stimulus and response, in terms of habit formation, habit integrations and the like. [�] What we need to do is to start work upon psychology, making behavior, not consciousness, the objective point of our attack. Behaviourism: a response to Freud

5. Focus on the observable (behaviour) All that cannot be observed is ignored Nearly all behaviour is learned Focus on experimentation rather than speculation Commitment to discovery, not dogma Parsimony Environmental determinism: tabula rasa, little importance attached to genes Animal research can be generalized to humans Behaviourist assumptions

6. Pavlov: Classical conditioning Unconditioned Stimulus (food) > unconditioned response (dog salivates) Conditioning: US paired with CS (bell) > UR (salivation) CS (bell) > CR (salivation) Skinner: Operant conditioning Behaviour is not always learned on the basis of an unconditioned stimulus Behaviour is determined by past history of reinforcement Stimulus > Response Shaping / Chaining Nothing that is learned can�t be unlearned � implication for therapy Bandura: Social modelling Evolution of behaviourism

7. S-O-R Acquisition ? performance Behaviour can be learned in absence of reinforcement, by means of imitating others Social Modelling can account for learning complex behaviours such as language Albert Bandura: Social Modelling approach

8. Sample / Subjects / Participants 36 boys and 36 girls, from Stanford Nursery, mean age 4 years 4 months Independent Variable Exposure to aggressive model or non-aggressive model Dependent variable Imitation / behaviour after the exposure (clearly operationalised) Imitation of physical aggression: [�] striking the Bobo doll with the mallet, sitting on the doll and punching it in the nose, kicking the doll, and tossing it in the air. Imitative verbal aggression: Subject repeats the phrases, "Sock him," "Hit him down," "Kick him," "Throw him in the air," or "Pow" Imitative nonaggressive verbal responses: Subject repeats, "He keeps coming back for more," or "He sure is a tough fella." Mallet aggression: Subject strikes objects other than the Bobo doll aggressively with the mallet. Sits on Bobo doll: Subject lays the Bobo doll on its side and sits on it, but does not aggress toward it. � Control group Design of the Bobo doll experiment

9. Design of the Bobo doll experiment

10. Design of the Bobo doll experiment

11. Inter-rater reliability �In order to provide an estimate of interscorer agreement, the performance of half the subjects were also scored independently by second observer. � Rater blind to the condition �The male model scored the experimental sessions for all 72 children. Except for the cases in which he, served as the model, he did hot have knowledge of the subjects' group assignments.� Matched-pairs design �subjects in the experimental and control groups were matched individually on the basis of ratings of their aggressive behavior in social interactions in the nursery school.� Pretest During the pretest, a number of the subjects imitated the essential components of the model's behavior but did not perform the complete act, or they directed the imitative aggressive response to some object other than the Bobo doll. Two responses of this type were therefore scored and were interpreted as partially imitative behavior. Design of the Bobo doll experiment

12. H1.�Subjects exposed to aggressive models would reproduce aggressive acts resembling those of their models and would differ in this respect both from subjects who served nonaggressive models and from those who had no prior exposure to any models.� H2. �It was further predicted that observation of subdued nonaggressive models would have generalized inhibiting effect on the subjects' subsequent behavior, and this effect would be reflected in a difference between the nonaggressive and the control groups, with subjects in the latter group displaying significantly more aggression.� H3. �One would expect, on this basis, subjects to imitate the behavior of a same-sex model to a greater degree than a model of the opposite sex.� H4. �Since aggression, however, is a highly masculine-typed behavior, boys should be more predisposed than girls toward imitating aggression, the difference being most marked for subjects exposed to the male aggressive model.� Hypotheses

13. �Scores of children in the aggressive condition were significantly higher than those of either the non-aggressive or control groups.� Significance level H1: supported or rejected? Results

15. Aggression is a learned behaviour, not an in-built instinct Learning can take place in absence of any reinforcement, only via observation and modelling Modelling is a powerful and fast way of learning Implications for parents, teachers, psychotherapists (treatment of phobias) Conclusions

16. Bandura, Ross & Ross (1963): children watched films with either an aggressive or non-aggressive model Filmed model produced even more aggression than live model Model rewarded or punished for aggression Children imitated the rewarded aggresive model the most Bandura�s research as the �first generation� of scientific research on the effects of media violence on children Bandura�s further research

17. January 15, 2007 Saddam Video Is Blamed for Deaths of More Children, by Tom Zeller Jr According to the American Psychological Association, there�s no question that a daily diet of violent media becomes part of the psycho-social mix in an individual. This is based largely on the work of psychologist Albert Bandura, who highlighted the important role social modeling and observational learning plays in human motivation � and action. (Before that, psychologists had largely focused on a sort of Pavlovian model of learning, based on actions and consequences.) [�] Dr. Bandura�s classic �Bodo Doll Experiment� , in which children who were shown film of an adult aggressively beating an inflatable doll were more likely to imitate and repeat that behavior when exposed to a Bobo Doll themselves, is often cited in describing the power of violence in the media. [�] Of course, the science isn�t exactly settled on all this. An essay at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, while acknowledging the groundbreaking work of Dr. Bandura, and the complex relationship between mind and media, suggests �even among researchers who are convinced of a causal link between television and violence, explanations of when and why this occurs are varied.� Implications of Bandura�s research

18. What do the Bobo doll studies really tell us about the effects of TV on children? Films used in the study differ markedly from real movies (no plot, no causal justification for the model�s behaviour, which is quite bizzare) Participants in an experiment know they are expected to play a particular role �Look, Mummy, this is the doll we have to hit� (Nobel, 1975) Does not test long-term effects Aggresion towards an inanimate toy only, not a living being What else can you do with the Bobo doll? Children in the experiment are not punished for their behaviour Problems with ecological validity and hence generalization Led to phase 2 research on the effects of media violence Implications of Bandura�s research

19. There has been a tremendous amount of research on the effects of media violence on children and adolescents over the past 40 years. Yet theorists still do not agree on this. Why? September 17, 2000 Hollow Claims about Fantasy Violence by Richard Rhodes [I]s there really a link between entertainment and violent behavior? The American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Institute of Mental Health all say yes. They base their claims on social science research that has been sharply criticized and disputed within the social science profession, especially outside the United States. In fact, no direct, causal link between exposure to mock violence in the media and subsequent violent behavior has ever been demonstrated, and the few claims of modest correlation have been contradicted by other findings, sometimes in the same studies. [�] Research on effects of media exposure on children

20. Brainstorming: What effects would you like to test? Formulate hypothesis How would you test this hypothesis? Who would be your participants? How would you define your independent variable? How would you define and measure your dependent variable? How would you test long-term effects? Would it be a laboratory experiment or a field (real �life) study? How would you establish a causal relationship? Research on effects of media exposure on children

21. Correlational studies do not establish causation The importance of other variables difficult to assess Weaknesses of laboratory experiments Difficulties with field experiments Difficulties with defining and measuring aggression reliably Studies use different measures, difficult to compare Little known about the mechanism Even if media violence can cause aggression, how do you reduce the violence? Research on effects of media exposure: problems

22. Key reading: Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582 To view vide footage from the experiment, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDtBz_1dkuk Readings

23. Additional reading: Watson, J.B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158-177. Available at: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/views.htm Murray, J.P. (1994). Impact of televised Violence. Hofstra Law Review, 22(4), 809-825. Available at: http://www.johnmurray.org/murray_a.htm Anderson, et al. (2003). The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(3), 81-110. Freedman, J.L. (2001) Evaluating the Research on Violent Video Games. Paper devlivered at Playing By the Rules: The cultural policy challenges of video games. University of Chicago. (Available online at: http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/freedman.html Zeller, T. Jr (September 15 2007). Saddam�s Video is Blamed for Deaths of More Children. New York Times. Available at: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/saddam-video-is-blamed-for-deaths-of-more-children/ Rhodes, R. (September 17, 2000). Hollow claims about fantasy fiolence. New York Times, Section 4, p 19. Available at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02EFD81138F934A2575AC0A9669C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Organizations/A/American%20Academy%20of%20Pediatrics Readings