Contributions to Psychology:
- Demonstrated how children can acquire new behaviors simply by observing adults
- Social learning theorists believe that most of one’s personality is formed through this modeling process
3.Laid the groundwork for decades of research and studies on the effects of children watching (and now playing) violence within the media (or in person)
Strengths of the Study?
Lab setting enabled better control of variables, providing cause & effect of modeled behavior and recorded behavior
Lab allows for replication of study
Quantitative data allowed for inferential stats, leading to the probability for results due to chance
Qualitative data provided better
overall picture of the Ps actions
instead of only numerical results
Weaknesses of the Study?
- Low ecological validity/mundane realism
- No true standardization of models (videos used in later trials)
- Sample from one middle-class US nursery school
- Criticized as categorizing children’s actions as aggressive, but children may have seen their behavior as play
- Numerous ethical issues
Ecological Validity low how?
- Child in a room with a stranger and an
inflatable doll is not normally occurring - Lacked adults/peers that the children knew in the room to see how they would act (as they have more influence)
- Cannot generalize results from beating up a doll to other situations
- A Bobo doll is SUPPOSED to be punched & hit (would it be different if it was a teddy bear or a Perry plush??)
Bizarre acts of aggressive were shown & imitated against a Bobo doll- not a real person
How was using children as Participants un-ethical?
Participants were children
1. Parental consent acquired?
2. Guidelines for RTW?
3. Debriefing not mentioned
4. Possible long-term effects were any children more aggressive afterwards?
Children were asked to witness aggressive behavior
Children were expected to exhibit aggressive behavior
Children were mildly provoked to feel aggression
Children observed covertly
Some children experienced distress in the study
