Transmission of

Aggression through
Imitation of
Aggressive Models
ALBERT BANDURA, DOROTHEA ROSS, AND SHEILA A. ROSS (1961)
Incidental learning
Children readily imitate behavior exhibited by an adult model.
Bandura & Huston (1961), Grosser, Polansky & Lippitt (1951), Blake (1958),
Rosenblith (1959), Schacter & Hull (1952)

Prediction:
subjects exposed to aggressive models would reproduce aggressive
acts resembling those of the models
Hypothesis
1. Subjects had learned imitative habits as a result of prior
reinforcement.
2. Non-aggressive models have inhibiting effect on subjects
subsequent behavior.
3. Influence of sex of model and sex of subjects on imitation
e.g. parents reward/ discourage/ punishment (reinforcement histories)
on sex appropriate/ sex inappropriate imitative responses
Aggression = highly masculine behavior; boys more predisposed than
girls.
Method
72 children
(37 69 months,
mean 52
months)
8 groups
6 subjects each
4 groups
Aggressive
models
2 groups
Male model
2 groups
Female model
4 groups
Non-aggressive
models
2 groups
Male model
2 groups
Female model
24 controls
No prior
exposure to
adult model
Aggressive models
1 min assembling tinker toys
Pent remainder period aggressing towards Bobo doll
1. Punching it repeatedly in the nose
2. Struck with mallet
3. Kicked it about the room
4. Repeated 3 times interspersed with verbally aggressive responses and 2 non-
aggressive comments
Learning based on observation or convert basis
Non-aggressive models
Assembled tinker toys in subdued manner
Ignoring Bobo doll
4 aspects
1. Physical aggression
2. Verbal aggression
3. Inanimate objects aggression
4. Inhibition aggression
5-point rating by
Experimenter
Nursing school teacher
Mild aggression arousal
Insure some instigation to aggression
2 mins of play and said the toys were reserved for other children
Aggressive toys and non-aggressive toys
Results
Exposure of subjects to aggressive models increases the probability of
aggressive behavior
Physical and verbal imitative aggression
Non-aggressive or control groups did not differ from each other
Girls: aggressive and control groups not statistically different
Non-imitative aggression: subjects exposed to aggressive models
display greater amount of aggression
E.g. toy gun
Boys partially (only for physical aggression) more prone than girls to
imitate aggression
Male model interaction more consistent and pronounced than female
model
Not reach statistical significance
Cartoon Violence
and Aggression in
Youth
STEVEN J. KIRSH (2005)
Comedic elements
Childrens and adolescents perception of violence depicted in
television shows/ films
Contradictory findings
Snow (1974): violent elements in cartoons consistently overlooked
Haynes (1978): comedic elements more violent than cartoons without
comedic elements
Humorous cartoons: not violent, perceived by adults
Theoretical reasons:
Comedy camouflages or trivialized depictions
of violence
1. Cognitive transformation
Rendering material that might otherwise be considered grave as whimsical
The more violence deviates from reality (cartoons, science-fiction, fantasy),
the less likely the act of violence taken seriously by viewers.
To perceive violence personal threat must occur
2. Schematic processing
Organise responses to experiences
Schema for comedies: jokes
Cartoons : low involvement
Minor discrepancies between experience and schema: applied to situation
in all-or-none fashion
Comedies exclude violence (contradicting elements)
Camouflaging effect
3. Priming reading process
Related thoughts, emotions, concepts residing in memory
Comical event and violence: priming humor-related thoughts
Dual priming lessens perceived level of violence

4. Contextual factors
Circumstances surrounding depiction of an act of violence
Consequences: high degree of pain and suffering/ remorseful and sorrowful
Legitimation: moral/ rewards
Older children tend to perceive cartoons to be less violent than
younger children

Non-comedic cartoons and
perceived violence
1. Graphicness
Violent content perceived to be offensive to cause uneasiness
2. Perceived actuality
Degree to which viewer perceives media depicted portrayals of
events, settings, and characters as existing, or being able to exist in the
real world
3. Perceived similarity
Degree of similarity between viewer and media depicted events,
settings, and characters
As perceived similarity increases, amount of priming of aggression-
related constructs increases
4. Perceived reality
Perceived actuality and perceived similarity
As children age, their ability to correctly differentiate fantasy from reality
improves
Realistic portrayals of media violence engender greater levels of
aggressive behavior in viewers than unrealistic media depictions

Disinhibition
Youth readily enact previously learned aggression behaviors
Viewing violent media can remove/ reduce reservations that youth
might have with regards to performing aggressive acts ahead in
their repertoire
Evidence
Early childhood
Peer-related aggression not observed
Interpersonal aggression among youth frowned upon by society
Socialization experiences cause them to control their behaviors

Field experiments: increased level of aggression in watching non-
comedic violent cartoons
Higher rates of aggressive behavior and lower rates of prosocial
behavior after watching comedic violent cartoon
No control, familiar, frustration, fatigue?

Middle childhood
Laboratory and field experiments using non-comedic, violent
cartoons demonstrated increased in aggressive behavior
Nathanson and Cantor (2000): humorous, violent cartoon increased
aggressive responses (boys 2
nd
6
th
grades): aggressive thoughts
and desires, but failed to alter actual aggressive behavior
Aggressive behavior is the result of a multitude of factors
Adolescence
Aluja-Fabregat and Torrubia-Beltri (1998): 8
th
grade boys perceived
extremely violent cartoons as being funny and thrilling = higher
levels of teacher-rated aggressivity
Bullies tend to dehumanize the victims, do not perceive acts of
aggression as particularly harmful, have a positive attitude towards
the use of violence
Limiting the effects of cartoon
violence in youth
Active mediation
Negative comments are made about media-portrayed acts of
aggression
Alter youths perception that violence has positive consequences,
reducing likelihood of imitation
Older children have better impulse control = lesser extend of imitated
aggression. However, mediation statements have bigger impacts for
younger children than preteens
Condescending statements: backlash towards antiviolence attitudes
Tune out anti-aggressive statements to avoid lectures
Younger children desire to please experimenters
Teens need to rebel
Focused on the victims feelings