A LIL SAMPLE OF MY SDL ( ALL DONE BY MYSELF) REST OF THE QUESTIONS ARE GEROGINA'S QUESTIONS =p

Sunday, August 3, 2008

• Title of Journal article: TRANSMISSION OF AGGRESSION THROUGH IMITATION OF AGGRESSIVE MODELS
• Author(s) : Albert Bandura, Dorothea Ross, and Sheila A. Ross
• Journal published in :Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582
• Year of publication: 1961
• Retrieved on: 2008-7-30

1. State theorectical concepts in study.
   
   The theoretical concepts were whether the observations of aggressive models instills aggressive and violent behavior in subjects and observation of passive(non-aggressive) models will lead to inhibition of aggressive behavior.
2. Brief discription of theoretical concepts
   
   The concepts of the study was whether a subject after being exposed to behaviors portrayed by models or film characters will imitate the behavior of the model even with the absence of the model or film character.
   
   
3. Reasons why authors decided to study the concepts
   
   Previous studies and experiments by Blake (1958) and others (Grosser, Polansky, & Lippitt, 1951; Rosenblith, 1959; Schachter & Hall, 1952) have shown that observations of a model has an influencing and controling effect on subjects during various social settings. An earlier experiment by Bandura himself & Huston, in 1961 demonstrated that children readily imitated behavior exhibited by an adult model in the presence of the model, which is why Bandura wanted to see if children will also imitate the behavior of an adult model even with the absence of the model.
4. What were the hypotheses presented in the study
   
   Bandura and Ross made 4 hypotheses and they were:
   
   
   1. "...subjects exposed to aggressive models will reproduce aggressive acts resembling those of the models..."
   2. "...the observation of non-aggressive models will have a inhibiting effect on the subject's subsequent behaviour..."
   3. "...subjects will imitate the behaviour of a same-sex model to a greater degree than a model of the opposite sex..."
   4. "...boys will be more predisposed than girls towards imitating aggression..."
      
      
      
      

Description of the Experiment

1. Description, background and number of participants
   
   The subjects were 36 boys and 36 girls enrolled in the Stanford University Nursery' School. They ranged in age from 37 to 69 months, with a mean age of 52 months.

   The helper of the experimenters consists of two randomly selected adults, a male and a female, playing the role of the aggressive/passive models , and one female experimenter conducting the study for all 72 children.

2. Brief discription of experimental procedure
   
   The children were divided into 3 different groups namely the control group, the group exposed to the aggressive model, and the group exposed to the passive(non-aggressive) model. The children who were to be exposed to the adult models were further sub divided by their gender, and by the gender of the model they were exposed to. A summary of these groups is as follows.
   
   Twelve experimental groups (each with 6 subjects)
   
   Control group - 24 subjects (4 groups)
   
   Aggressive model condition - 24 subjects (4 groups)
   
   Non-aggressive model condition - 24 subjects (4 groups)
   
   But all children were tested individually in the form of 3 stages,
   
   In stage one of the experiment children were brought to the experimental room by the experimenter, and the model, who was in the hallway outside the room, was invited to come in and join in the game. The room was set out for play and the activities were chosen because they had been noted to have high interest for nursery school children. One corner was arranged as the child's play area, where there was a small table and chair, potato prints and picture stickers. After settling the child in its corner the adult model was escorted to the opposite corner of the room where there was a small table, chair, tinker-toy set, a mallet and a five foot inflatable Bobo doll. After the model was seated the experimenter left the experimental room.
   
   In the passive condition, the model ignored Bobo and assembled the tinker-toys in a quiet, gentle manner.
   
   In the aggressive condition the 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 wayAn example of physical aggression was "raised the Bobo doll and pommeled it on the head with a mallet",An example of verbal aggression was, "Pow!" and "Sock him in the nose". After ten minutes the experimenter entered and took the child to a new room which the child was told was another games room.
   
   In stage two the child was subjected to 'a ploy to agitate and anger them'. The child was taken to a room with relatively attractive toys. As soon as the child started to play with the toys the experimenter told the child that these were the experimenter's very best toys and she had decided to reserve them for the other children.
   
   Then the child was taken to the next room for stage three of the study where the child was told it could play with any of the toys in there. The experimenter stayed in the room "otherwise a number of children would either refuse to stay alone, or would leave before termination of the session".

   In this room there was a variety of both non-aggressive and aggressive toys.

   The passive(non-aggressive) toys included a tea set, crayons, three bears and plastic farm animals.

   The aggressive toys included a mallet and peg board, dart guns, and a 3 foot Bobo doll.

   The child was kept in this room for 20 minutes during which time their behaviour was observed by judges through a one-way mirror. Observations were made at 5-second intervals therefore giving 240 response units for each child.
   
   Response measures:
   
   Three measures of imitation were obtained. The observers looked for responses from the child that were very similar to the display by the adult model. These were:

   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 (for example child repeats “He keeps coming back for more”)

   They also looked at two types of behaviours that were not complete imitations of the adult model:

   1. Mallet aggression (for example, child strikes toy with mallet rather than Bobo.)

   2. Sits on Bobo (for example, child sits on Bobo but is not aggressive towards it)

   They also recorded three aggressive behaviours that were not imitations of the adult model. These were all aggressive behaviours which were not carried out by the model.

   1. Punches Bobo

   2. Non-imitative physical and verbal aggression

   3. Aggressive gun play

   The results enabled the researchers to consider

   (a) Which children imitate the models,

   (b) Which models the children imitate

   (c) Whether the children showed a general increase in aggressive behaviour or a specific imitation of the adult behaviours.
   
   
   
   
3. Definition of independent variable and an example of an independent variable in the study
   
   Definition:A manipulated variable in an experiment or study whose presence or degree determines the change in the dependent variable
   
   Examples shown in study:The condition the children were exposed to, the gender of the role model and the gender of the child.
4. Definition of dependent variable and an example of an dependent variable in the study
   
   Definition:The observed variable in an experiment or study whose changes are determined by the presence or degree of one or more independent variables.
   
   Examples shown in study: Model that child imitates, the level of aggressive behavior imitated
5. Problems encountered by the experimenters in the study.
   
   There was a major problem, due to the small size of each group, the results of the study could be distorted if one group contained say three children who are normally quite aggressive like for example if a group of 6 boys after witnessing an aggressive display by the male model becomes the most violent and aggressive group, it could be because the boys were already aggressive and violent by nature.
   
   Bandura and Ross decided to reduce this problem by pre-testing the child for aggressiveness. They did this by asking the models to observe the children in the nursery and judge their aggressive behaviour on four 5-point rating scales.they rated them on 4 scales physical aggression, verbal aggression, aggression towards inanimate objects and aggressive inhibition. The score for each child was the total marks of all 4 scales.
   
   And to test the inter-rater reliability of the observers, 51 of the children were rated by two observers independently and their ratings compared. These ratings showed a very high reliability correlation (r = 0.89), which suggested that the observers had good agreement about the behaviour of the children.Thus with the results the researchers were able to group children with the same level of aggressiveness together.

Results and conclusion

1. What were the results of the study?
   
   
   • The children in the aggressive model condition made more aggressive responses than the children in the non-aggressive model condition
   • Boys made more aggressive responses than girls;
   • The boys in the aggressive model conditions showed more aggressive responses if the model was male than if the model was female;
   • The girls in the aggressive model conditions also showed more physical aggressive responses if the model was male but more verbal aggressive responses if the model was female; Concluded by counting how often the girls punched the bobo doll, the effect of gender roles were reverse, in which the girls were more violent than boys
   
   
   
2. Did the results supported the authors' hypotheses?
   
   All the result findings supported the authors hypotheses except for the last one on which says that "...boys will be more predisposed than girls towards imitating aggression...". The hypotheses was proven to a certain extent as results show that girls became more aggressive if their model was a male and even became more aggressive then the boys.
3. Conclusions that the authors made based on their findings
4. Any further recommendations that the author made if any

1. Choose 2 present day scenarios: describe how the results are supported in the scenario you have chosen
2. Choose one present scenario: describe how the results are not supported and refuted in the scenario

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