AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Selection bias: The sample that Bandura used in his studies attended the nursery school at Stanford University, and so the study has been criticised for its selection bias. Participants may be expected to be from a more privileged background in terms of family education and income than the general population.

Detailed explanation-2: -The researchers pre-tested the children for how aggressive they were by observing the children in the nursery and judged their aggressive behavior on four 5-point rating scales. It was then possible to match the children in each group so that they had similar levels of aggression in their everyday behavior.

Detailed explanation-3: -Critics point out that acting violently toward a doll is a lot different than displaying aggression or violence against another human being in a real-world setting. In other words, a child acting violently toward a doll doesn’t necessarily indicate they’ll act violently toward a person.

Detailed explanation-4: -There are many ethical issues with Bandura’s studies. The major issue is harm and the wellbeing of participants. The children may have been distressed by the aggressive behaviour they witnessed and the aggressive behaviour they learned from the study may have stayed with them, going on to become a behavioural problem.