Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment

Summary

The video describes an early experiment on learning aggressive behavior through observation. Children watched a filmed adult act aggressively toward an inflated doll and use hostile remarks. Researchers later assessed what the children had learned by observing their behavior toward simulated targets, rather than exposing real people to harm.

Method and observed behavior

• Children watched an adult model aggressive actions toward the doll.
• The model hit it with a mallet, tossed it into the air, kicked it, threw it down, and beat it.
• The model also used novel hostile language.
• The children were later observed in a room with various play materials to assess what they had picked up.

Main findings and ideas

• Children learned aggressive actions and hostile language simply by watching the adult.
• The video challenges the idea that seeing aggression is cathartic or “drains” an observer’s aggressive drive.
• Exposure to the aggressive model increased children’s interest in guns, even though guns were not part of the model’s behavior. Children who had not seen the aggressive modeling showed less interest in guns.
• The narrator compares using simulated targets in such research to testing bombing strategies with simulated targets rather than real cities.

Speakers and sources featured

• Narrator/explanatory voiceover: Describes the experiment, its method, and its findings.
• Filmed adult model: Demonstrates the aggressive actions and makes hostile remarks.
• Child participants: Observe the model and are later assessed; they are not individually identified.