Dorothea M. Ross

Dorothea Mary Ross (December 24, 1923 – May 7, 2019) was a Canadian-American psychologist and pioneer in the field of pediatric psychology. Ross is best known for her work on social learning at Stanford University in the early 1960s where, together with Albert Bandura and her sister, Sheila Ross, she demonstrated that children learn aggressive behavior through modeling and imitation. Ross was also one of the founders of the Society of Pediatric Psychology.

Early life and education

Ross was born to John and Mildred Ross in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on December 24, 1923. She received her B.A. from the University of British Columbia in 1956 and her M.A. in Psychology from the University of British Columbia in 1958. Ross received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University in 1962.

Research

The study that Ross is most well known for is the Bobo doll experiment conducted while a Ph.D. student at Stanford University with her professor and mentor, Albert Bandura, and her sister, Sheila Ross, who was then also a Ph.D. student at Stanford University. Children (mean age 52 months) enrolled in the Stanford University Nursery School were divided into aggressive model experimental groups and non-aggressive model groups. The children in the aggressive model groups saw an adult model aggressive behavior by hitting a Bobo doll (a 5 foot tall inflatable doll) with their fists and with a rubber mallet, kicking the doll, and throwing it, while verbally making aggressive comments such as “kick him.” The children in the non-aggressive model groups saw an adult model quiet play behavior and ignore the Bobo doll. Each experimental group was then taken into a room in another building, as was a control group that had not seen an adult model any behavior.