The study was titled “Imitation of Film-Mediated Aggressive Models” and was authored by Albert Bandura, Dorothea Ross, and Sheila Ross in 1963. The report was 11 pages, and it was published in, volume 66, issue number 1 of the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.
The hypothesis that was being tested was that exposing children to film-mediated aggression increases their probability of exhibiting aggressive behavior.
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The study’s sample size was composed of 48 boys and girls all of whom were from the Stanford University Nursery School within the age range of 35 to 69 months with a mean age of 52 months.
The sample was divided into four equal groups of 24 children each. In the selection, it was ensured that each group had an equal number of boys and girls. Three of the groups were exposed to different forms of aggression while the fourth was the control group.
With regards to the independent variable, the first group observed aggressive models in real life. The second group watched films where the models exhibited aggression while the third group was exposed to aggression by a cartoon character. The control group was not exposed to aggression whatsoever.
There was no pre-test for the study.
The study had a post-test where the children were taken to a test room where they were provided with a variety of aggressive and non-aggressive toys, and their behavior was monitored. Their subsequent behavior was categorized as imitative aggression, partially imitative responses, mallet aggression, sits on Bobo doll, nonimitative aggression, and aggressive gun play (Bandura, Ross D., & Ross S., 1963).
The study utilized a post-test only control group design because the focus of the study was on the post-exposure behavior of the children to observe whether they exhibit imitative traits.
With regards to internal validity, the study is strengthened by the small number of independent variables, and this helped reduce the possible effects of other factors. The use of a Bobo doll has been questioned since it is primarily meant to be hit and this affected the internal validity. As for the external validity, researchers have questioned the selection of the sample as it was biased since all children were from Stanford University Nursery. This means that the results cannot be applied to children different social classes and ethnic backgrounds as the sample student’s were mostly white and from privileged families.
References
Bandura, A., Ross, D., and Ross, S. A. (1963). Imitation of Film-mediated Aggressive Models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology , 66(1), 1-11.
