In a study, researchers had preschool children watch an adult either kicking, hitting, and yelling at a Bobo doll or playing quietly with toys. Children were then placed alone in a room with the Bobo doll and other toys. Children who had observed the aggressive adult performed more novel aggressive acts toward the doll than children who had observed the nonaggressive adult.
This study most directly supports which theoretical claim?
- A
Aggression is purely genetically determined
- B
Classical conditioning explains aggressive behaviors
- C
Aggression is reinforced only through direct experience
- Dcheck_circle
Children acquire behaviors by observing and imitating models
Explanation
Bandura's Bobo doll studies showed that children learn novel behaviors through observation and imitation, the core claim of social learning theory.