What was the primary aim of Bandura's study with regard to children?

The primary aim of Bandura's study was to understand whether children learn aggression through observation. This study, famously known as the Bobo Doll experiment, investigated the concept of social learning theory, which posits that individuals can learn behaviors by observing others. In this case, Bandura was particularly interested in whether children who observed an adult behaving aggressively towards a Bobo Doll would imitate that behavior when given the opportunity to play with the doll themselves.

The findings demonstrated that children who witnessed aggression were more likely to replicate those aggressive actions, thereby supporting the idea that observational learning plays a significant role in the acquisition of behaviors, especially aggressive ones. This insight was pivotal in the field of psychology, as it highlighted the influence of modeling on children's behavior and opened up discussions about the implications of media violence and parental roles in behavior development.