Introduction to Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961)

Have you ever noticed how children sometimes copy the things adults say or do? Whether it’s a catchphrase or a way of crossing their arms, children are like little sponges! In 1961, Albert Bandura and his colleagues wanted to see if this "copycat" behaviour extended to aggression. This famous study, often called the "Bobo Doll Study," is a foundation of Criminal Psychology because it helps us understand if criminal behaviour might be learned by watching others.

Quick Link: This study provides the evidence for Social Learning Theory, which you can learn about in the chapter on "Learning theories of criminality."

The Aim of the Study

Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) had a few main goals:

  • To see if children would imitate (copy) aggressive behaviour shown by an adult model.
  • To see if children were more likely to copy a same-sex model (e.g., boys copying men, girls copying women).
  • To see if boys were generally more aggressive than girls.

The Procedures

Don't worry if the setup sounds complicated! It helps to think of it in three clear stages. Bandura used \(72\) children (an equal mix of boys and girls) from the Stanford University Nursery School.

Step 1: The Modeling Room

The children were split into three groups:

  1. Aggressive Condition: The child watched an adult model play with a "Bobo Doll" (an inflatable weighted doll). The adult hit the doll with a mallet, tossed it in the air, kicked it, and shouted things like "Pow!" and "Sock him in the nose!"
  2. Non-Aggressive Condition: The child watched an adult model play quietly and ignore the Bobo doll completely.
  3. Control Group: These children did not see any model at all.

Step 2: The Aggression Arousal

To make sure the children were in a similar mood, they were all taken to a room with very exciting toys. However, after a few minutes, the researcher told them they couldn't play with them anymore because they were "the very best toys" and reserved for other children. This was designed to make the children feel a bit frustrated.

Step 3: The Observation Room

The child was then taken to a final room for \(20\) minutes. This room contained "aggressive" toys (the Bobo doll, a mallet, dart guns) and "non-aggressive" toys (crayons, tea sets, plastic farm animals). Researchers watched through a one-way mirror and recorded exactly what the children did.

Did you know? To keep the results objective, the observers used a checklist to count specific behaviours every \(5\) seconds!

The Findings (Results and Conclusions)

The Results

The numbers told a very clear story:

  • Children in the Aggressive Condition showed much more physical and verbal aggression than those in the other groups.
  • Boys were more likely to copy physical aggression, while girls showed more verbal aggression.
  • Children were more likely to imitate the model if the model was the same sex as them (especially boys following a male model).
  • Children in the Non-Aggressive group showed almost no aggression at all.

The Conclusions

Bandura concluded that aggressive behaviour can be learned through observation and imitation. This supports the idea that we don't just learn through our own rewards and punishments (Operant Conditioning), but by watching what role models do. This is a key part of understanding how antisocial or criminal behaviour might start in childhood.

Quick Review: Watching aggression \(\implies\) Frustration \(\implies\) Imitating the aggression.

Strengths and Weaknesses

In your exam, you will need to evaluate this study using terms like reliability and validity.

Strengths

  • High Reliability: Because the study was a laboratory experiment, the procedure was highly standardised. Every child saw the model for the same amount of time and went through the same "frustration" stage. This means the study can be easily repeated to check the results.
  • Objectivity: Bandura used two observers to watch the children. Because they both agreed on the "scores" for aggression, we can say the study has high inter-rater reliability and is not just based on one person's opinion (it is objective).

Weaknesses

  • Low Ecological Validity: The setup was very artificial. In real life, a child doesn't usually watch a stranger hit a doll and then get left alone in a room. Therefore, the results might not tell us how children behave in the real world.
  • Ethical Issues: There are concerns about protection of participants. Bandura deliberately made children feel frustrated and then taught them how to be aggressive. This might have caused long-term psychological distress or taught them "bad" habits.
  • Selection Bias: All the children were from the same nursery at a top university (Stanford). This means the sample might not represent children from different backgrounds, making it hard to generalise the results.

Key Takeaways for Revision

Aims: To see if kids copy aggression and if gender matters.
Method: \(72\) kids, \(3\) conditions (Aggressive, Non-aggressive, Control), Bobo doll.
Results: Aggressive model = Aggressive kids. Same-sex imitation was strongest.
Conclusion: Aggression is learned through observation.
Evaluation: Good control and reliability, but poor ethics and artificial setting.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't forget that the "Aggression Arousal" (Step 2) happened to all the children, not just the aggressive group! This was to ensure their initial mood was a controlled variable.