Arllei A.

Mandap
BS Psychology 2 Y2-1

Bobo Doll Experiment

Albert Bandura is a well-known social cognitive psychologist who is best known for his
social learning theory, the concept of self-efficacy, and his famous bobo doll experiments. He
emphasized the importance of our interactions with others in our development, and he believes
that much of what and how we learn happens as highly cognitive functions rather than as simple
reactions to the outside world. He conducted the Bobo Doll Experiment at Stanford University in
1961 because there was a lot of debate about whether a child’s social development was due to
genetics, environmental factors, or social learning from others around them. The experiment
was carried out by a team of researchers who physically and verbally mistreated a 3- and 5-foot
painted cartoon clown doll, which is designed to sit back upright when knocked down, in front of
preschool-age children, leading the children to later mimic the adults’ behavior by attacking the
doll in the same manner. The 72 children in these experiments ranged in age from 37 to 69
months and came from the Stanford University nursery school. For the experiments, one-third of
the children were exposed to an aggressive model, while the other third were exposed to a non-
aggressive model. The remaining participants served as the control group. He used inflatable
plastic toys called Bobo dolls that were painted to look like cartoon clowns and were bottom-
weighted so that when knocked down, they would return to an upright position.
The experiment is a matched pairs design, which is utilized when there are two
treatment conditions in an experiment and the individuals are paired based on a blocking
variable, with each pair receiving a different treatment at random. The experiment began with
the children and an adult model being brought into a playroom. The children were initially seated
at a table in one corner of the experimental room and given distracting items such as stickers,
toys, drawings, and stamps, which had previously been found to be of high interest to the
children. In another corner, an adult model sat with a play set, a mallet, and an inflatable Bobo
doll. The experimenter told the children that the toys in the corner were just for the adult to play
with before leaving the room. In the second group, a model became hostile towards the Bobo
doll. The model would begin by playing with the Bobo doll before becoming aggressive towards
it. Smacking or striking the Bobo doll, as well as hitting the Bobo doll in the face with the toy
mallet, are examples of aggressive behavior. The model abused the Bobo doll verbally and
physically, using words like “Pow” and “Sock him in the nose,” as well as passive-aggressive
phrases like “He surely is a tough fellow” and “He keeps coming back for more.” After observing
the model’s behavior, the children were placed in a room without the model and observed to see
if they would repeat the actions they had seen earlier. It prompted the children to mimic the
model’s behavior by attacking the doll in the same manner. For the entire 10-minute period, the
non-aggressive adult model simply played with other toys. In this case, the model completely
ignored the Bobo doll, and the children were guided out of the room.
 The results of these experiments support Bandura’s proposed principles of social
learning theory. According to Bandura’s research, observing and imitating the behavior of others
influences behavior. The Bobo Doll Experiment demonstrates the role of vicarious reinforcement
by demonstrating how children are easily influenced by the behavior of adults. Bandura made
several predictions about the outcome of the Bobo Doll Experiment that were consistent with his
social learning theory. The results showed in The Bobo Doll Experiment that children who were
exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to imitate aggressive behavior themselves,
as expected. The results on gender differences strongly supported Bandura’s prediction that
same-sex models have a greater influence on children. Boys were nearly three times more likely
than girls to replicate physically violent behavior, proving him correct. While the results for the
girls were similar, they were less drastic.
According to Bandura’s social learning theory, learning happens through observations
and interactions with other people. People learn primarily by observing and imitating the
behaviors of others. Unlike behaviorism, which believes that reinforcement and punishment
have a direct influence on learning, according to social learning theory, witnessing others be
rewarded or punished can have an indirect impact on behavior. The amount of reinforcement
given to a behavior, as well as the value attached to it by the individual, will impact its tendency
to occur. Some actions may be rewarded, while others may result in negative outcomes.
Individuals may learn from the results of their behavior, and when a similar scenario comes in
the future, they will alter their behavior based on what has worked in the past.
Bandura stated that learning is a cognitive process that occurs in a social context, rather
than a purely behavioral one. Whereas, in my opinion they gave the children a toy that was
intended to be beaten up and were surprised when the kids did exactly that. When hit, it
bounces back after falling. That alone is fascinating enough to keep anyone doing it. Since
children are young and naive, they are particularly easy to influence and control. Acting violently
against a doll, in my opinion, is very different from expressing hostility or violence against
another human being in real life. Another criticism leveled at the study is that the
demonstrations are measured almost instantly. It is difficult to determine whether a single
exposure has long-term effects using snapshot studies.
As worries about violent media and video games linger, Bandura’s research on
aggression is still relevant today. His social learning theory, which was inspired by Bobo, also
influenced cognitive-behavioral therapy. He discovered that while girls were less likely to be
physically violent than boys, they were equally prone to verbal aggression. This is a common
occurrence in society, where male bullying at school is more often physical, whereas female
intimidation is more verbal and social. It’s uncertain whether children learn socially, but children
who see an adult model using violence are more likely to believe it’s acceptable. As a result,
they may be more prone to utilize this behavior when confronted with comparable scenarios.
 References

Bandura, A. (1971). Social Learning Theory. Retrieved from

https://archive.org/download/BanduraSocialLearningTheory/Bandura_SocialLearningTheory_tex
t.pdf

Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive
models. Journal of abnormal and social psychology, 63, 575–582.
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045925

Mcleod, S. (1970, January 1). Bobo doll experiment. Bobo Doll Experiment | Simply
Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html