Bandura's social learning theory proposes that aggression is learned through direct experience or observing others. His Bobo doll experiment demonstrated this by showing that children who observed an adult acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll were more likely to imitate that behavior, especially if the adult was rewarded. While the study provided evidence for social learning of aggression, it had limitations such as lacking realism and raising ethical issues by encouraging children to act aggressively. The theory also faces criticism for being overly simplistic and not accounting for biological factors influencing aggression. However, it can explain inconsistencies in when and where people display aggressive behaviors.

1. Social learning theory
AB = Aggressive Behaviour

2. Bandura claimed that for social learning to
take place individuals must undergo four
stages:
1) Attention, individuals will learn AB if they
attend to model’s behaviour.
2) Retention, the behaviour must be
remembered in order for the individual to apply
it
3) Production, individuals must be able to
reproduce the behaviour.
4) Motivation, individuals will display AB if the
expectation for reward is greater than the
expectation of punishment.

3. According to Bandura aggressive behaviour is
learned through either direct or vicarious
experience
• Learning by direct experience was derived from the
principle of operant conditioning.
For example, if a child acts aggressively and as
a result gets something they want, this will
reinforce the action making it more likely to
occur again in similar situations.
• Learning by vicarious experience occurs when an
individual is exposed to aggressive behaviour.
For example, a child witnesses a role model
acting aggressively and imitates the model’s
behaviour.

4. Social learning theorists place great emphasis
on the role of rewards on the imitation of
aggressive behaviour
• Aggressive behaviour must be reinforced and appear
rewarding in some way for it to occur
• There are four factors which determine the likelihood of
AB:
1) Their previous experiences of AB – both their own and
that of others
2) The degree in which previous AB has been successful in
the past
3) The likelihood of AB being rewarded or punished
4) Cognitive, social and environmental factors which are
operating at the same time.

5. Bandura et al (1963) demonstrated social
learning in their “bobo doll” study
Aim: to demonstrate that there are two effects to
exposing children to aggressive models:
- The teaching effect
In which the behaviour is learned
vicariously.
- The motivating effect
The effect consequences have on the
likelihood of AB

6. Bandura et al (1963) demonstrated social
learning in their “bobo doll” study
Procedure: To demonstrate this they divided nursery school children
into 3 groups.
In each group the children watched a film where an adult displayed AB
towards a bobo doll (e.g. hitting) and made aggressive comments.
There were 3 different conditions for each group.
In condition 1, the adult model was neither punished nor rewarded for
AB.
In condition 2, the model was rewarded by a second adult.
In condition 3, the model was punished by a second adult.
The children were then watched as they played in the room with the
bobo doll and researchers recorded imitative AB…

7. Bandura et al (1963) demonstrated social
learning in their “bobo doll” study
Findings:
- condition 1 + 2: showed imitative
aggressive behaviour
- condition 2: were the most aggressive
- condition 3: were the least aggressive

8. Bandura et al (1963) demonstrated social
learning in their “bobo doll” study
Conclusion: AB had been learned through the model’s
behaviour in the film.
Although the children in condition 3 did not display AB, it
had still been learned
To test this, researchers offered incentives (sweets) for
every imitation of the model’s behaviour
This led to high levels of aggression in all three groups,
showing that they had learned just as many aggressive
acts as the children in condition 1 and 2
They just weren’t motivated to display them

9. Evaluation points
-of the bobo doll study

10. Strength 
A strength of Bandura’s ‘bobo doll’ study is
that it was conducted in a laboratory
Therefore it has high reliability as
researchers had complete control over the
independent and dependent variable
It can therefore be repeated to achieve
similar results

11. Strength 
Another strength of Bandura’s research is
that ‘observer bias’ was prevented
Researchers were unaware during the
child’s assessment which group they were
in
Therefore their expectations could not
influence their findings, making them more
valid

12. Weakness 
There are some methodological problems
with studies involving bobo dolls as bobo
dolls are not real people
Bandura’s study therefore lacks mundane
realism
It cannot be determined whether the
children would have acted aggressively
towards another person

13. Weakness 
It also lacks ecological validity as the study was
conducted in a laboratory
Thus findings cannot be applied to real life
situations
Another weakness of this study into SLT of
aggression is that children may have
experienced demand characteristics as bobo
dolls are designed for the purpose of hitting

14. Weakness 
It could be debated whether the child’s
behaviour was a result of free will or if it
was determinist
It could be seen as determinist as children
said they felt they were expected to act
aggressively towards the bobo doll
This suggests there are methodological
flaws with the research

15. Weakness 
The experiment conducted was unethical
and morally wrong
Children were encouraged to act
aggressively
Thus, children were negatively impacted as
they did not leave the experiment as they
entered it

16. Weakness 
Another weakness into the SLT is it’s over
simplistic explanation of aggression
Flanagan suggests that testosterone is the
primary cause of aggression
Therefore SLT is reductionist in explaining
AB as it does not take into account
biological factors influencing aggression
and places too much emphasis on the
behavioural approach

17. Weakness 
Benedict Suggests premenstrual syndrome
has been seen in criminal trials as a cause
of AB
This casts doubts on aggression being a
purely learned behaviour

18. Strength 
It explains inconsistencies in aggressive
behaviour
If someone is aggressive at home but
passive at work/school, this means that
they have learned how to behave in two
different situations
Aggression brings rewards in one context
and punishment in the other