Ace A Level Psychology OCR 2026 – Unlock Your Mind Power!

The study conducted by Bandura et al. in 1961 is widely critiqued for its lack of protection from psychological harm, which is a significant ethical concern. The children involved in the experiment were exposed to aggressive behaviors modeled by an adult in the presence of both aggressive and non-aggressive stimuli. While the study aimed to explore social learning, the potential psychological distress that some children may have experienced from observing such aggressive actions is a critical issue. Children are particularly vulnerable participants, and the ethical responsibility of researchers includes ensuring their emotional and psychological wellbeing. This concern raises questions about the appropriateness of exposing children to such stimuli without sufficient safeguards in place.

The other options relate to different aspects of ethical considerations. For instance, the matter of informed consent typically applies to adult participants who can understand the implications of their participation, but children often require parental consent. Debriefing is an important part of ethical research practice; however, in this particular study, the emphasis is on the potential for psychological harm rather than the processes of informed consent or debriefing. Lastly, the point that all participants were adults does not apply to Bandura's study, which primarily involved children, making that aspect irrelevant to the ethical considerations raised.