What did Bandura's social learning theory study demonstrate through the Bobo doll experiment?

Bandura's social learning theory, particularly illustrated through the Bobo doll experiment, reveals that children can learn and imitate behaviors by observing others. In this experiment, children watched adults behaving aggressively towards a Bobo doll. The findings showed that when these children were later given the opportunity to interact with the doll, they mimicked the aggressive actions they had observed. This demonstrated the concept of observational learning, where behaviors are acquired not just through direct experience but also through the observation of models, such as adults in this case. The results of the experiment underscored the importance of modeling in learning behavior, particularly in the context of aggression, reinforcing the idea that exposure to aggressive role models can lead to children displaying similar behaviors.