Monkey See, Monkey Do - The Bobo Doll Experiments

In 1961, Albert Bandura conducted a series of tests to see if aggression can be learned through observation and imitation. In his study consisting of 72 preschool children, he found that if the children were exposed to an aggressive male or female adult model who made distinct physical and verbal attacks against an inflatable toy called a “Bobo Doll”, the children were likely to imitate the model's aggressive behavior. He also made a number of other interesting observations such as the effect of same-sex models on the children’s behaviors and the difference in physical and verbal aggression between boys and girls. He later conducted several variations of his Bobo Doll experiments to observe the effect of aggressive behavior in films and the effects of reward and punishment on the children’s learning and imitation. These studies illustrated Bandura’s theory of Observational Learning and have also raised questions about the influence of violent media on children.

• TRANSMISSION OF AGGRESSION THROUGH IMITATION OF AGGRESSIVE MODELS

Additional information:
Bandura’s 1963 Bobo Doll study on the effect of films that depict aggressive behavior on learning and imitation
Bandura’s 1965 Bobo Doll study on the effects of reward and punishment on learning and imitation