How many children in study? Gender? where were they located?
72 children, Stanford Uni Nursery school, 36 boys, 36 girls
How was this a matched pairs design?
matched on aggression by teacher
What were the three conditions?
aggressive, nonaggressive, or control
T or F: There were equal numbers in each group.
true
What were the 2 types of aggression that they looked at?
imitative/ nonimitative, physical and verbal
The children__________ ( i.e they did not interact)
watched the model
Who collected the data/watched the children?
2 independent observers
What stereotypes were presented in this study?
Gender Stereotypes: "Women don;t act like that"
High amount of low amount of control?
tons of control
Nature of nurture?
nurture
Kids in which condition showed more aggression?
the aggressive condition
the boys showed more physical aggression with the _____ model.
male
Girls showed more physical aggression with ____. model
male
Girls showed more verbal aggression with ___ model.
female
What type of non imitative data was observed?
gun play
Ethics?
psychological harm?
What type of data was collected? (hint: camera)
snapshot data
Boys, overall, showed more______.
physical aggression
1. From the study by Bandura, Ross and Ross on the imitation of aggression:
Give two types of behaviour (the response categories) that the observers looked for when they observed the children.
Give two types of behaviour (the response categories) that the observers looked for when they observed the children.
-The two types of behavior that the observers looked for when they observed the children were responses that were similar to the display of the adult model. These were broken down into three types, of which two of them were imitation of physical aggression and imitation of verbal aggression.
Describe how Bandura, Ross and Ross checked the reliability of their observations.
Bandura, Ross and Ross checked the reliability of their observations by using two independent observers to gage the children's response. The observers were independent of each other so that their own responses would not be picked up from one another. They also were independent to see how accurate the experiment was by seeing if their ratings matched.
Outline the procedure (10).
-In the study by Bandura, Ross and Ross on aggression 48 preschool children were checked were separated into two groups based on their aggressive traits. The subjects were taken into a room and settled into a corner with an activity while in the other corner a model sat with toys, a BOBO doll, and a mallet. The kids in the non-aggressive group had a model who ignored the BOBO doll and played with the toys while the aggressive group had a model who hit the BOBO doll with a mallet and/or verbally abused the doll. After 10 minutes of watching the subjects were taken to an observation room where there were a mixture of aggressive and non-aggressive toys. There were two observers that recorded whether or no the child imitated the actions of the model.
Describe what this study tells us about children. (10)
-In the study by Bandura, Ross and Ross on aggression, 48 students are used as the participants. They are separated into aggressive and non-aggressive groups which were then separated into four groups of boys/girls with same sex/different sex models. The children were observed to see if they would imitate the models and what was found was that physical aggression was imitated, girls were more likely to show verbal aggression than boys if the model was female, boys were more likely to show physical aggression than girls, the boys in the aggressive conditions were more likely to be aggressive if their models were boys also, the girls were more likely to show more physical aggression if the model was male, and children also conducted non imitative physical aggression.
(c) Using your chosen study as an example, what are the advantages and disadvantages of
studying children in psychological research? [10]
studying children in psychological research? [10]
-In the Bandura, Ross and Ross study on aggression there are many advantages and disadvantages to using children in psychological research. Disadvantages would be as follows: Children are more likely to be psychologically harmed if the study is unethical,children cannot give informed consent, and children cannot communicate their thoughts and feelings as clearly as they could if they were older.
Some advantages would be as follows: children are more honest while conducting a psychological study, children can develop over time in comparison to adults, and psychologists would be able to observe how children interact.
Some advantages would be as follows: children are more honest while conducting a psychological study, children can develop over time in comparison to adults, and psychologists would be able to observe how children interact.
Suggest one other way of gathering data in your chosen study and say what effect, if any, this would have on the results. [10]
In the Bandura, Ross and Ross study on aggression the way that information was gathered was by two independent observers. This can be subjective due to the fact that the observers may experience/interpret a scene differently. The fact that there are two of them shows that they are more likely to draw accurate data if they agree. However, these observers, since they are independent of each other, cannot influence each others views of the scene. Furthermore, to support this study even more, the observers did not have to observe facial expressions (like some other studies)but actions that the child was performing. This is a type of data that is very easy to observe.
3. The study by Bandura, Ross and Ross studied the relationship between adult models and aggressive behavior in children.
Describe the nature versus nurture debate in child development [2]
Describe the nature versus nurture debate in child development [2]
-In child development, the nature vs. nurture debate can be described as follows: The question of whether a child's development is influenced by genetics/predisposition or is influenced by the child's environment.
Explain how the evidence from the study by Bandura, Ross and Ross could support the nurture view of aggression. (**PROVIDE SPECIFIC EVIDENCE FROM THE STUDY IN YOUR ANSWER) [2]
-The evidence from the Bandura study could support the nurture view of aggression as follows: The children imitated the adults actions-Imitation of physical aggression (for example, punching the doll in the nose), imitative verbal aggression (for example, repeating the phrases "Pow!" or "Sock him in the nose", imitative non-aggressive verbal responses (for example child repeats "He keeps coming back for more")
Bandura proposed that learning is a result of_____.
Imitation/modeling (observational training)
What was the aim of this study?
To demonstrate that if children were passive witnesses to an aggressive display by an adult they would imitate this aggressive behavior when given the opportunity.
Research method(ie case study, experiment, naturalistic observation)?
Laboratory Experiment
The subjects (children) were taken to an observation room for 20 min and were observed through a ___.
one way mirror
There were 2 observers - inter- rater reliability . They recorded the subjects responses every ___seconds. The observers looked for behavior that was similar to the display by the adult mode
5
The observers looked for 3 types of imitation behavior that were similar to the display by the adult model such as :
1. Imitation of physical aggression (for example, punching the doll in the nose)
2. Imitative verbal aggression (for example, repeating the phrases "Pow!" or "Sock him in the nose".
3. Imitative non-aggressive verbal responses
2. Imitative verbal aggression (for example, repeating the phrases "Pow!" or "Sock him in the nose".
3. Imitative non-aggressive verbal responses
Examples of imitation of physical aggression?
punching the doll in the nose
examples of verbal aggression?
Repeating the phrase "Pow!" or "Sock him in the nose!"
Examples of aggressive toys?
dart gun, bob doll, mallet
non aggressive toys examples?
crayons
Strengths? (4)
1.Participants matched according to level of aggression ( Matched Pairs Design )
2. High level of control of the Independent Variables.
3. The experiment can be easily replicated again
4. Large amounts of Quantitative Data collected - (240 data points per child collected)
2. High level of control of the Independent Variables.
3. The experiment can be easily replicated again
4. Large amounts of Quantitative Data collected - (240 data points per child collected)
Weaknesses? (4)
1. Low ecological Validity - Children exposed to stranger models
2. long term psychological effects (snap shot Data)
3. Aggression or playful ?
4. Unethical
2. long term psychological effects (snap shot Data)
3. Aggression or playful ?
4. Unethical
Ecological Validity?
Low ecological Validity seeing as how the children were exposed to models that were strangers to them and they had no interaction with the model prior or during the coarse of the experiment.
Ethics?
Maybe unethical seeing as how young children were exposed to aggressive behavior and this could cause long term psychological problems.