Explain the findings of, and evaluate Bandura's bobo doll studies.

Bandura found that children who had observed an aggresive role model hitting and punching a bobo doll were more likely to imitate the exact aggressive acts on the doll that they had seen. This was compared to a control group who had observed no aggression and showed no aggression towards the doll.These lab experiments can be used to provide SUPPORT for the social learning theory idea that children can learn aggression through observation and imitation. HOWEVER, the research is very short term and contrived making it artificial and unrealistic, which leads us to question the reliability and validity of the research. The doll lacks mundane realism (ie it can not be generalised to the real world), and it doesn't represent everyday aggression. There are also ethical concerns with the study as the children involved were taught aggressive behaviours.