How Does Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment Work?

Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment shows how kids learn by watching others act boldly and bravely, just like when they copy their favorite cartoon character.

Imagine you're playing with a toy that looks like a big, red, round balloon, but it's actually a doll named Bobo. Now imagine your friend gets really excited and starts hitting Bobo, pushing him, and even yelling at him. You watch this happen, and then it’s your turn to play with Bobo.

You might do the same things your friend did, you might hit Bobo or yell at him too! This is because kids learn by watching what others do, just like they learn how to tie their shoes by watching Mom or Dad do it.

How the Experiment Works

In the experiment, kids watched adults act either boldly (by hitting and yelling at Bobo) or calmly (by just sitting quietly with him). Later, when the kids got to play with Bobo themselves, those who saw the bold actions were more likely to copy them.

It's like if you see your favorite superhero kicking a villain, you might want to kick a villain too!

So Bandura showed that learning can happen without magic, just by watching and copying what others do.

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. A child sees another kid hitting a Bobo Doll and then imitates that action.
  2. A boy watches his friend laugh at the Bobo Doll and starts laughing too.
  3. After seeing a model aggressively punch the doll, a child tries to copy it.

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Recent activity