Bobo doll experiment

As Bobo Doll study referred to experiments by the psychologist Albert Bandura. They are among his most important studies of the observation learning or model learning. A particularly well-known Experimentaus this series, which is also known as Rocky experiment is described below. However, there are still further studies on the same topic.

Course of the study by Bandura (1963 )

Four -to five- year-old children, including 33 boys and 33 girls, a film was shown, which showed a grown person named "Rocky" in a room with several articles, the person faces a big plastic doll named " Bobo " aggressive behavior: The doll was beaten, kicked, thrown to the ground and verbally, sometimes with new words.

The movie ended in three different versions. The children were each shown a version of it, thus forming three randomized experimental groups were formed by participants. Half of the experimental group got to see the optional end.

Individually - - Directly after the children were taken to a room with the same objects. The children played with the various objects, but also imitated the aggressive behavior Rockys against Bobo after (also with the new words ). The readiness for aggression was different extent among different groups. After an incentive and reward the children showed a significant increase in violence. Especially the girls showed increased aggressive behavior towards the doll after the payoff. The children who had previously seen the punishment Rockys were significantly less aggressive, but after a call for violence they showed comparable aggressiveness. The group with the neutral end showed a similar aggressive behavior as the group, which was shown to the praise.

Then the children were seen for any action to which they remember and they could imitate, provided a reward in view. The amplified in all three groups, the imitation rate, the group, follow the Rockys punishment was, the other two groups surpassed.

Conclusion

Albert Bandura concluded that children alike learned the role model behavior, but have reproduced differently depending on the consequences. So there is a difference between acquisition ( acquisition or competence) and execution (performance ) of the observed behavior.