The Psychology Book (90 page)

exerting effort to please others, and

Maccoby concluded that their

The ongoing debate over inherent

demonstrating low self-confidence

better grades clearly reflect some

sex differences is tied up with

with respect to many tasks.

combination of greater effort,

general political questions about

greater interest, and better work

how society should be organized,

Challenging stereotypes

habits than their male peers.

and the roles that men and women

Maccoby systemically argued

Whatever discrepancy exists

are “naturally” equipped to fill. By

against these assumptions,

between boys and girls in terms of

pointing out that psychological

pointing to the fact that girls are

achievement motivation does not

literature tends to publish results

higher academic achievers than

reflect school-related motivation.

indicating sex differences, while

boys, show greater interest in

This motivation could prove

ignoring those indicating equality,

school-related skills from an early

significant throughout girls’ lives,

Maccoby has fought against the

age, and are less likely to drop out

as performance at school is also

assignment of men and women to

before completing high school.

relevant to job performance.

stereotypical professions. ■

Eleanor E. Maccoby

Born in Tacoma, Washington,

Achievement Award from the

Eleanor Maccoby (née Emmons)

American Psychology Foundation

earned a bachelor’s degree from

and The American Psychological

the University of Washington and

Association introduced an award

an MA and PhD in experimental

in her name. Maccoby’s work to

psychology from the University of

debunk stereotypes is considered

Michigan. In the 1940s, she worked

fundamental to understanding

for the Department of Agriculture,

children’s socialization and

and then at Harvard University,

gender differences.

supervising research on child-

rearing practices. Perceiving that

Key works

gender bias was holding her back,

she moved to Stanford University,

1966
The Development of Sex

where she became the first

Differences

woman to serve as Chair of the

1974
The Psychology of Sex

Psychology Department. Maccoby

Differences

went on to receive a Lifetime

1996
Adolescents after Divorce

MOST HUMAN

BEHAVIOR

IS LEARNED THROUGH

MOD

ALBERT BANDURA (1925– )

ELING

288 ALBERT BANDURA

observing others, is at the heart of

IN CONTEXT

social learning theory. This theory

I
n the 1940s and 1950s, learning

was understood primarily in

behaviorist terms, with B.F.

suggests that learning is achieved

APPROACH

Skinner’s theory of operant

by mentally rehearsing and then

Social learning theory

conditioning—in which learning is

imitating the observed actions of

BEFORE

wholly determined by rewards and

other people, who serve as models

1938
B.F. Skinner proposes

punishments—dominating the

of appropriate or acceptable

the behaviorist notion of

field. From this context emerged

behavior. Bandura argued that

operant conditioning, which

Albert Bandura’s interest in studying

“most human behavior is learned

explores positive and negative

childhood aggression—an area he

through modeling.”

reinforcements in learning.

felt was too complex to explain in

Bandura noted four conditions

terms of operant conditioning—as

that are necessary for a person to

1939
US psychologist John

a learned behavior.

successfully model the behavior

Dollard argues that aggression

Bandura’s hypothesis was that

of another: attention, retention,

is always a consequence of

children learn aggression through

reproduction, and motivation.

frustration, and that frustration

observing and imitating the violent

Learning requires that the learner

always leads to aggression.

acts of adults—particularly family

is paying attention to the behavior

members. He believed that the key

in the first place, that he remembers

AFTER

to the problem lies at the intersection

what he saw or heard, that he is

1966
American pychologist

of Skinner’s operant conditioning

actually able to physically reproduce

Leonard Berkowitz claims

and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

the behavior, and that he has a

environmental cues, such

of identification, which explores how

good motive or reason to reproduce

as those associated with

people assimilate the characteristics

it, such as the expectation of reward.

aggressive behavior, must

of others into their own personalities.

Although the concept of reward

be present for aggression to

Bandura’s work culminated in his

is part of his social learning theory,

follow anger.

famous Bobo doll experiment, and

Bandura’s move away from

his hugely influential 1977 treatise

behaviorism is evident in his

1977
US
psychologist Robert A.

Social Learning Theory.

radical, anti-behaviorist ideas about

Baron suggests that Bandura’s

the relationship between

experiment implies that violence

Social learning theory

a person’s environment and his or

in the media contributes to

Bandura’s belief that people learn

her behavior. According to

violence in society.

not through reinforcement (rewards

behaviorism, environmental

and punishments), but through

circumstances entirely determine

We are surrounded

We notice and

by people talking and

remember these

acting in different ways.

observed actions
…

Most human

behavior is

learned through

modeling.

…and, if motivated,

…which we then

physically reproduce

mentally rehearse
…

ourselves.

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 289

See also:
Konrad Lorenz 77 ■ B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Lev Vygotsky 270

behavior, but Bandura believes

in “reciprocal determinism”—the

idea that a person influences the

environment just as the environment

influences him. Bandura conceived

of personality as an interaction

between three different components:

the environment, behavior, and

psychological processes (the ability

to use language and entertain

images in the mind). All of these

components are relevant to the

study of childhood aggression,

which, Bandura argued, was learned

by watching and modeling adults.

Bobo doll experiment

Bandura’s social learning point of

view was the basis for his 1961

Bobo doll experiment on childhood

aggression, which sought to explain

how aggressive behavior develops,

what provokes people to carry

out aggressive acts, and what

For the experiment, 36 boys and 36

Children attack the Bobo doll

determines whether they will

girls, all between the ages of three

in Bandura’s 1961 experiment on

aggressive behavior. In some cases,

continue to behave aggressively. By

and six, were recruited from a local

subjects devised new ways to attack

proving that a child will imitate the

nursery school. They were divided

the doll by using other toys in the room.

behavior of an adult role model, the

up into three groups of 24, each

experiment showed the power of

comprising 12 boys and 12 girls.

child was later left alone in a room

examples of aggression in society.

The first group was the control

of toys that included a Bobo doll, he

group (which did not see any adult

or she imitated a good deal of the

role model); the second group was

aggressive acts performed by the

exposed to an adult modeling

the adult models, even creating

aggressive behavior toward an

novel acts of violence against the

inflatable Bobo doll; the third group

doll. Children in this group were

was exposed to a passive adult

also generally less inhibited than

Behavior partly

model. All of the children in the

those in the other groups, showing

created the

experiment were tested individually

an increased attraction to guns

environment, and the

to ensure that they would not be

despite the fact that playing with

resultant environment,

influenced by their peers.

guns was not modeled.

in turn, influenced

In the experiments on the

By contrast, children who were

the behavior.

second group, each child watched

either in the control group or who