In a later modification of the classic Bobo doll experiment, the children who had seen a model beat up the doll and then get rewarded showed aggression toward the doll. Another group had seen the model get punished rather than rewarded. Which of the following statements about these other children is true?

• A. They did not beat up the doll until offered a reward to demonstrate what the model had done.
• B. They refused to beat up the doll under any circumstances.
• C. They beat up the doll but denied doing so when asked about it.
• D. Half of them beat up the doll and half did not.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Begin by understanding the context of the Bobo doll experiment, which was conducted by Albert Bandura to study observational learning and aggression in children.
2. Step 2: Recognize that the experiment involved children observing a model behaving aggressively towards a Bobo doll, and the model was either rewarded or punished for their behavior.
3. Step 3: Consider the psychological concept of vicarious reinforcement and punishment, which suggests that individuals can learn behaviors by observing the consequences of others' actions.
4. Step 4: Analyze the behavior of the children who observed the model being punished. According to Bandura's findings, these children were less likely to imitate the aggressive behavior unless they were offered a reward to do so.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the statement 'They did not beat up the doll until offered a reward to demonstrate what the model had done' aligns with the concept of vicarious punishment, where the observed consequences influence the likelihood of imitating the behavior.