Bandura's Experiment

BANDURA’s EXPERIMENT
           
           
            The catharsis versus stimulation question was only one of several topics that sparked early experimental work in the investigations of the effects of the media. Another controversy arose over the possibility that TV and movies were serving as school for violence. Would children imitate violent behavior they have just observed on films or TV programs? A series of experiment conducted by psychologist Albert Bandura and his colleagues during the 1960s indicated that, in fact and TV might teach aggressive behaviors.
            Pre school children were shown films in which a model reacted violently to a large rubber doll (called a bobo doll). When children were placed in a play situation similar to the one they had just observed, they mimicked the behaviors they had seen, performing more far aggressively toward the unfortunate Bobo doll than did children who have not seen the film. It was further determined that children would behave more aggressively if they were rewarded for doing so or if they saw the model in the film rewarded. Of course, as you are probably aware, there is a big difference between hitting an intimate doll and hitting a human being. To account for this, more recent studies have substituted a human being dressed as a clown for the faithful Bobo doll. Although more children are willing to hit a rubber doll, a large number also physically assaulted the human clown. The reaction did not occur among children who had not seen the violent film.
 
Encouraging prosocial behavior
            Most early research into the effects of mass communication dealt with the negative or anti social effects of media. Toward the end of 1960s, however, sparked perhaps by the success of public television’s “ Sesame Street ” researchers realized that positive behaviors could be promoted by television programs
 
Developing Self – Control
            Laboratory experiments have shown that films and TV programs...