For any father or mother, one of the aspects that worries them most is possibly the education of their children. Without a doubt, one of the most difficult tasks any parent faces. Recent studies show that the parental involvement of fathers in their children’s education is positive. In this sense, Albert Bandura, a popular Canadian psychologist, has tried to shed a little light on how to educate the little ones thanks to his Bobo doll experiment and the theory of social learning. Bandura affirms that human beings—and therefore children—learn through observing the people we consider models. And in the case of children, the parents.
To demonstrate that parents do have a decisive influence on their children’s behavior, Albert Bandura put the Social Learning Theory into practice through the popular Bobo doll experiment, one of the most recognized studies in the area of ??child psychology. As explained by the European Institute of Positive Psychology (IEPP), this experiment carried out in the 60s observed the behavior of the little ones “after they were exposed to adult models who showed different levels of aggression towards an inflatable plastic doll. one and a half meters tall called Bobo.” The results were revealing. Children who had seen aggressive behavior towards the Bobo doll subsequently showed more aggressive behavior towards the same doll. For their part, those children who did not witness aggressive behavior did not have any aggressive behavior.
With this experiment Bandura demonstrated his Social Learning Theory and highlighted the importance of parental behavior in education and child development, contributing significantly to the understanding of how observation and imitation influence the acquisition of behaviors.
The Bobo doll experiment is a clear and effective example that shows that children imitate everything they see and hear. You have to be aware that every action you witness will have an impact on your behavior and the way you act. For this reason, experts recommend reflecting on each act and analyzing it consciously and rationally so as not to get carried away by impulses. As Albert Einstein said, “Educating by example is not a way to educate, it is the only way.”
