It has been proven many times that "actions speak louder than words."

Dr. Albert Bandura's social learning theory says that people learn attitudes, behaviors, and emotional reactions from "role models whom they wish to emulate."

One of the earliest studies to support the social learning theory are called the "Bobo Doll Studies" because the researchers made use of a 3.5 feet tall, inflatable Bobo the Clown doll.

In these studies, the researchers has preschool children watch a film wherein an adult pummeled, hammered, kicked and even threw Bobo the clown.

1/3 of the children saw the film end with Bobo's (adult) assailant being punished. 1/3 saw the film's consequence-less version. 1/3 of the kids saw the film end with Bobo's agressor being rewarded. The children were then let loose in a playroom filled with toys, including a Bobo the Clown doll.

The kids who saw the rewarded or consequence-free version of the film were more likely to assault the Bobo doll than the kids who saw the punished version.

The results indicate that children's aggressive or non-aggressive actions "depended on their observations of another person's experiences with reward and punishment and not their own.:

Significance of the study

Researchers created long-running serial dramas whose goal is to reduce the spread of HIV, slow down population growth, prevent unwanted pregnancies, promote literacy, and empower women.

"These television programs, aired around the world, feature attractive characters whose positive behaviors bring about good outcomes, unsavory characters whose negative behaviors result in adverse effects, and transitional models who start out negatively but change into good role models over time. Through these characters, positive actions and their consequences are subtly modeled, rather than explicitly stated. The programs also connect viewers with social networks and organizations that can help them improve their lives." (Psychology Matters)

Among various media, perhaps television has the widest 'reach' - making it a very powerful tool in spreading positive messages and influencing billions of people. Dr. Albert Bandura's study integrates television's unique abilities and his social learning theory to fight our society's problems.

Source: Psycholohy Matters