Aims of the study

The primary goals of Bandura's 1963 experiment were to investigate the effects of exposure to aggressive role models presented in various ways.

Key research aims

• To determine if children would show increased aggression after watching an aggressive role model in a film or cartoon, compared to a real-life model.
• To compare levels of imitation across realistic and less realistic formats, expecting that children might identify less with cartoon characters and therefore imitate them less.

Procedures of the study

Bandura used a controlled laboratory experiment to test his hypotheses, involving careful selection and matching of participants to ensure fairness.

Participants

• The study involved 96 children who were matched based on their pre-existing levels of aggression (assessed similarly to Bandura's 1961 study).
• They were divided into four groups of 24 children each.

Method

The experiment followed a structured approach with experimental and control conditions.

Experimental groups:

1. Real-life aggressive role model - Children observed a live adult aggressive role model.
2. Filmed human aggressive role model - Children watched a video of an adult displaying the same aggressive actions on a screen.
3. Cartoon aggressive role model - Children viewed a cartoon character performing aggressive behaviours on a television while they played.
4. Control group - Children saw no role model at all.

Procedure

1. Children in the experimental groups were first exposed to their assigned model condition (real-life, filmed, or cartoon aggressive model), then experienced mild frustration (aggression arousal).
2. They were then taken to a separate room containing a variety of toys.
3. For 20 minutes, the children played freely while researchers observed them.
4. Observations recorded aggressive actions every 5 seconds, including verbal aggression, physical aggression, mallet use, and gun play.
5. This resulted in 240 observation points per child.

Results of the study

The observations revealed clear patterns in how exposure to aggressive models affected the children's actions.

Key findings

• Children in all three experimental conditions displayed significantly more aggressive behaviours than those in the control group.
• There was no significant difference in the total number of aggressive acts between children who watched human models (real or filmed) and those who saw the cartoon model.

Mean aggression scores

Conclusions from the study

Bandura drew several important insights from the results.

Key conclusions

• Children are just as likely to imitate aggressive behaviours seen in films or cartoons as those observed in real life, suggesting that media portrayals can influence behaviour similarly to direct experiences.
• Contrary to expectations, the cartoon model did not lead to less imitation overall; instead, it appeared to generally weaken social inhibitions, encouraging more spontaneous aggressive acts.