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PSY 302 Week 11–
Chapter 14 Moral Development–
Moral Judgement
· Morality of behaviour is based partly on the thinking (conscious intentions and goals) that
underlies the behaviour
· It is not always clear i.e. stealing food to o
feed her starving sister
o Psychologist argues that the reasoning behind a given behaviour is critical for
determining whether that behavior is moral or immoral, and that changes in moral
reasoning form the basis of moral development.
· To understand the development of children’s moral reasoning, we use the following
psychologist’s theory (took a cognitive development approach) … o o Jean Piaget
Lawrence Kohlberg
Piaget’s Theory of Moral Judgment
· Forms the foundation of cognitive theories about the origin of morality
· Describes how children’s moral reasoning changes from a rigid acceptance of the dictates
and rules of authorities to an appreciation that moral rules are a product of social
interaction and hence are modifiable.
· Believes interactions w/ peers, more than adult influence, account for advances in
children’s moral reasoning
· Study
o Observed children playing games (i.e. marbles with rules and fairness) and –
interviewed children using opened ended questions (i.e. told stories and asked
which child is naughtier?)
· The Stages
o Defines two stages in children’s moral reasoning o Younger children
Outcome is more important that is the intention Older children o
Intention is seen as important
· The Stage of Heteronomous Morality Characteristics of children who have not achieved o
Piaget’s stage of concrete operation
Children younger than 7
In the preoperational stage
Regard rules and duties to others as unchangeable
Acceptance for authorities rules and punishments
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o Believe the consequences of the action determine whether an action is good or
bad, not the motives or intentions
o Children bel ieve that rules are unchangeable due to 2 factors …
Social
Parental control is coercive and unilateral
Leads to children unquestioning respect for rules
Cognitive
Cognitive immaturity causes them to believe rules are real and not a
product of the human mind
· The Transitional Period Period from o
about age 7/8 to age 10
o Children are reaching the concrete operational stage of cognitive development
More interactions w/ peers than they previously did Learn o
about one another’s perspective and to cooperate
o Start to value fairness and equity, and become autonomous in their thinking
about moral issues
o Children are taking an active role, using info from their social interactions to
figure out how moral decisions are made and how rules are constructed
· The Stage of Autonomous
Morality Age 11 or 12 o
o Children no longer accept blind obedience to authority as the basis of moral
decisions
o They fully understand that rules are the product of social agreement and can be
changed if majority of the group agrees
o Consider fairness and equality when constructing rules Children believe o
punishments should “fit the crime”
Adults are not always fair in how they deliver punishment o
Consider individual’s motives and intentions when evaluating their behaviour
o Individual differences in the rate of children’s progression are due to
differences in …
cognitive maturity
opportunities for interactions w/ peers and for reciprocal role-
taking
how authoritarian and punitive parents are with them
· Studies of children from many countries and various racial or Critique of Piaget’s Theory o
ethnic groups have shown that as they age, boys and girls increasingly take motive
and intentions into account when judging the morality of actions
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o Parental punitiveness is associated w/ less mature moral reasoning and moral
behaviour
o Cognitive development plays a role in the development of moral judgment,
children’s performances on tests, logical tasks, and IQ are associated w/ levels of
moral judgment
i.e. little evidence that peer interaction stimulates moral development
i.e. young children’s ability to appreciate the role of intentionality in
morality
can consider intentions and disregard adult’s views when judging
the morality of actions (i.e. hurting others)
o theory provides clear and interesting arguments for subsequent research on the
development of moral judgment to support or refute
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning
· Proposed that the development of moral reasoning proceeds through a specific series of
stages that are discontinuous and hierarchical each new stage reflects a qualitatively o
different, more advanced way of thinking than the one before it
Kohlberg’s Measure of Moral Reasoning
· Kohlberg was influenced by Piaget’s theory.
o His research was based on a longitudinal study where he assessed moral judgment
by presenting hypothetical moral dilemmas based on a man named Heinz:
· Assessed moral reasoning by presenting children w/ hypothetical moral dilemmas and
then question about the issues
· Should Heinz steal the drug? Would it be wrong or The questions including … o o
right if he did? Why? o Is it a husband’s duty to steal the drug for this wife if he
can get it no other way?
Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Reasoning
· Preconventional Level o
Self-centered
o Focuses on getting rewards and avoiding punishment Stage 1 o
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“Punishment and Obedience Orientation”
What is seen as right is obedience to authorities
Children’s conscience (what makes them decide right/wrong) is fear of
punishment
Moral action is motivated by avoidance of punishment
o Stage 2
What is right is what is in one’s own best interest or involves equal
exchange btw people
· Conventional Level Centered on o
social relationships
o Focuses on compliance w/ social duties and laws Stage 3 o
“Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Relationships, and Interpersonal
Conformity (Good Girl, Nice Boy) Orientation”
Good behaviour is doing what is expected by people who are close to the
person or what people generally expect of someone in a given role i.e.
a son
Being good is important and entails having good motives, showing
concern about others, and maintaining good relationships w/ others
o Stage 4
“Social System and Conscience (Law and Order) Orientation
Moral behaviour involves fulfilling one’s duties, upholding laws, and
contributing to society or one’s group
The individual is motivated to keep the social system going and to avoid a
breakdown in its functioning
· Postconventional
Level Centered on o
ideals
o Focuses on moral principles Stage 5 o
“Social Contract or Individual Rights Orientation
Involves upholding rules that are in the best interest of the group, are
impartial, or were agreed upon by the group
Some values and rights are universally right and must be upheld in
society i.e. life, liberty, basic human rights
when laws violate these principles, the individual should act in
accordance w/ these universal principles rather than w/ the law
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o Stage 6
“Universal Ethical Principles”
Commitment to self-chosen ethical principles that reflect universal
principles of justice
i.e. equality of human rights, respect for dignity of each human
· On the basis of the reasoning underlying children’s responses, Kohlberg proposed three
levels of moral judgment.
· Each level involves two stages of moral judgment.
· Kohlberg argued that people all over the world go though his stages in the same order,
although they differ with regard to the final stage they attain.
· He also contended that levels of cognitive development, especially individuals’ skills in
perspective taking, determined their progress through the stages.
· In his initial research, which involved only boys, Stages 1 and 2 reasoning predominated
when the participants were 10 years old. In adolescence, Stage 3 reasoning was most
frequently observed. Even by their 30s, only a small number of participants achieved
Stage 5
· (Table 14.1, page 610) The preconventional level involves two sequential stages. In
Stage 1, Punishment and Obedience Orientation, what is seen as right is obedience to
authorities; in Stage 2, Instrumental and Exchange Orientation, morality is defined in
terms of one’s own best interest or a tit-for-tat exchange of benefits. The conventional
level begins with Stage 3, Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Relationships, and
Interpersonal Conformity Orientation, in which good behavior is doing what is expected
by people close to the individual or by fulfilling the expectations of a social role (e. g.,
“daughter”). This level continues in Stage 4, Social System and Conscience Orientation,
in which right behavior involves fulfilling one’s duties, upholding laws, and contributing
to society or one’s group. The postconventional level is centered on ideals and moral
principles. In Stage 5, Social Contract or Individual Rights Orientation, right behavior
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involves upholding rules that are in the best interest of the group (however, some
values and rights are universally right and must be upheld regardless of majority
opinion); Stage 6, Universal Ethical Principles, is so rarely attained that Kohlberg
eventually stopped scoring it as a separate stage.
Critique of Kohlberg’s Theory
· Positive o This theory is important bc it demonstrated that children’s moral
reasoning changes in relatively systematic ways as they develop
o Individual’s levels of moral reasoning have been related to their moral
behaviour, this theory is useful to understand how cognitive processes
contribute to moral behaviour
· Negative
o Kohlberg did not sufficiently differentiate btw truly moral issues and issues of
social convention
o Method criticized as reflecting a biased, intellectualized Western conception of
morality, and not applicable to non-Western cultures
o Change in moral reasoning is discontinuous Existence of gender differences in o
moral reasoning
Carol Gilligan argued that Kohlberg’s classification of moral judgment is
centered on principles of justice and rights, which are valued more by
males than by females, rather than on values of caring and responsibility
for others, which are more central to females than to males.
Contrary to Gilligan’s theory, there is little evidence that males and
females score differently on Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning.
However, adolescent and adult females focus somewhat more on issues
of caring about other people in their moral judgments.
Prosocial-Moral Judgment
· Prosocial Behaviour Voluntary behaviour intended to benefit another, such as o
helping, sharing with, and comforting others
o i.e. while walking to the movies, you see a girl crying on the ground. The girl tells
you she broke her arm and asks you to go to school to get help. But if you go
with the girl you will miss the start of the movie and won’t be able to get
popcorn
· Preschool Children o Preschool children have self-interested reasoning.
o They also recognize others’ needs.
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o In late childhood and adolescence, judgments are based on explicit perspective
taking.
o Prosocial moral reasoning is culture-based, and reflect values of the culture o
With age, prosocial judgment becomes abstract.
Children using higher-level prosocial moral reasoning tend to be more sympathetic and
prosocial in their behavior than children who use lower-level prosocial moral judgment.
· When children respond to Kohlberg’s dilemmas they are choosing between 2 acts that
are wrong (stealing vs. allowing someone to die)
· However, other types of moral dilemmas not studied pattern of changes has been found
in a variety of Western countries, although children from different cultures do vary
somewhat in their prosocial moral reasoning, reflecting the values of the culture.
Children using higher-level prosocial moral reasoning tend to be more sympathetic and
prosocial in their behavior than children who use lower-level prosocial moral judgment.
· In everyday life, children make decisions about many kinds of judgments. Moral
judgments are decisions that pertain to issues of right and wrong, fairness, and justice.
Social conventional judgments are decisions that pertain to customs or regulations
intended to secure social coordination and social organization. Personal judgments are
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decisions that refer to actions in which individual preferences are the main
consideration. In many cultures, children begin to differentiate between moral and
social conventional issues as early as age 3, and see moral transgressions as the more
serious offenses. Children, even some adolescents, believe that parents have authority
over moral and social conventional issues in the family, but not over matters of personal
judgment.
The Development of Conscience
· Conscience
o An internal regulatory mechanism that increases the individual’s ability to
conform to standards of conduct accepted in their culture
o Pushes children towards making a prosocial-moral judgment
o Restrains antisocial behaviour or destructive impulses and promotes a child’s
compliance w/ adult’s rules and standards
o Causes the child to feel guilty when engaging in uncaring behaviour or failing to
live up to internalized values about helping others
o Conscience is tied to cultural standards about right or wrong, morality is learned
(nurture) and not innate (nature)
o It’s developed slowly over time
By age 2, children recognize moral standards and rules
Exhibit signs of guilt when they do something wrong
When they understand others emotions and goals it contributes to the
development of conscience Temperaments develop conscience o
Toddlers prone to fear unfamiliar people exhibit more guilt at young age
Infants prone to fear, develop conscience which is promoted by mother’s
use of gentle discipline
Gentle discipline is unrelated to guilt Genes play a factor o
Seen in the dynamics btw maternal responsiveness and the child’s
genotype for serotonin transporter gene, SLC6A4
SLC6A4 makes children reactive to their rearing environment
For children w/ this allele variant, low maternal responsiveness is
associated w/ low conscience
Domains of Social Judgment
Children’s decisions involve …
· Moral Judgment
o Decisions that pertain to issues of right and wrong, fairness and justice i.e.
stealing another child’s toy
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· Social Conventional Judgment Decisions that pertain to customs or regulations intended o
to secure social coordination and social organization
i.e. wearing pajamas to school
· Personal Judgment Decisions that refer to actions in which individual preferences o
are the main consideration
i.e. whom to be friends with
· By age 3
o Children believe that violations of moral rules are more wrong than violations of
social conventions6
· By age 4
o Children believe that moral transgressions, but not social conventional
transgressions, are wrong even if an adult does not know about them or even if
adults have not said they are wrong
· Children believe parents have authority
Cultural and Socioeconomic Differences
· -conventional, and personal judgments Child’s ability to distinguish among moral, social
appears around the same age across a variety of cultures
· Religious beliefs may affect moral or social-conventional issue
· Socioeconomic class can influence the way children make such designations
· People in different cultures sometimes vary in whether they view decisions as moral,
social, conventional, or personal.
· These distinctions sometimes arise from religious beliefs.
o In the United States and Brazil, children of lower-income families are less likely
than middle-class children to differentiate sharply between moral and social
convention judgments. These differences may reflect a greater emphasis on
submission to authority among individuals of lower socioeconomic status.
Prosocial Behaviour
· Altruistic Motives Helping others for reasons that initially include empathy or sympathy o
for others and, at later ages, the desire to act in ways consistent with one’s own
conscience and moral principles
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· Empathy
o An emotional response to another’s state or condition
· Sympathy
o Feeling of concern for another in reaction to the other’s emotional state or
condition
· All children are capable of prosocial behaviors, but children differ in how often they
engage in these behaviors and their reasons for doing so.
· There is some developmental consistency in children’s readiness to engage in prosocial
behaviors, such as sharing, helping, and comforting.
· Great variation among children of the same age in their propensity to engage in prosocial
behaviors.
· Adults generally want children to help others for altruistic motives. These motives initially
include empathy or sympathy for others and, at later ages, the desire to act in ways
consistent with one’s own conscience and moral principles.
· The origins of altruistic prosocial behavior are rooted in the capacity to feel empathy and
sympathy. Empathy is an emotional reaction to another’s emotional state or condition
that is similar to that other person’s state or condition.
· Sympathy is the feeling of concern for another person (or animal) in reaction to that
other’s emotional state or condition; sympathy is often an outcome of empathizing with
another’s negative emotion or situation.
The Development of Prosocial Behaviour
· Empathy is an em otional response to another’s emotional state or condition
· Sympathy is feeling concerned for another in response to the other’s emotional state or
condition o Often an outcome of empathizing w/ another’s neg emotion or situation
· In order to express empathy or sympathy, children must be able to take the perspective of
other Piaget believes children are unable to do this until age 6 or 7 o
o Infants respond to others’ distress, but may not differentiate between others’
emotional reactions and their own
o By 14 months
Children are emotionally distressed when they see others in
distress
Express concern for adults who are hurt By 18 to 25 months o
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Sharing personal object w/ adult whom they saw being harmed by
another
i.e. by having a piece of personal property taken away or destroyed
Comfort adults that are injured or distressed By 2 to 4 years old o
Some types of prosocial behaviours increase Cooperation o
Another form of prosocial behaviour
Driven by sympathy and child’s sense of fairness
Children as young as 14 months are able to cooperate By 2 and o
3 years old
Often ignore siblings’ distress or need
The Origins of Individual Differences in Prosocial Behaviour
Biological Factors
· Biologists proposed that humans are biologically predisposed to be prosocial
· People who help others are more likely than less helpful people to be assisted when they
are in need, thus more likely to survive and reproduce
· Assisting those w/ whom share genes increase likelihood that those genes will be passed
on
· Genetic factors contribute to individual differences Identical twins are more o
similar in prosocial behaviour than are fraternal twins
o Specific genes found that might contribute to individual differences in prosocial
tendencies, likely through their influence on differences in temperament and the
ability to regulate emotions, which in turn are related to empathy and sympathy.
· Genetic factors affect empathy, sympathy and prosocial
behaviours One likely path through differences in o
temperament
The Socialization of Prosocial Behaviour
· Children tend to imitate other people’s helping and sharing behavior, including even that of
unknown peers or adults. For example, individuals who had risked their lives to rescue
Jews from the Nazis in World War II later reported learning generosity and caring from
their parents almost twice as often as bystanders did. The values parents convey to their
children may influence not only whether children are prosocial but also toward whom
they are prosocial.
· Providing children with opportunities to engage in helpful activities can increase their
willingness to take on prosocial tasks at a later time. Such opportunities include
performing household tasks and, among adolescents, taking part in community service.
Such activities foster perspective taking and confidence.
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· High levels of prosocial behavior and sympathy in children tend to be associated with
constructive and supportive parenting, including authoritative parenting. Discipline that
involves reasoning seems particularly likely to foster children’s voluntary prosocial
behavior. The combination of parental warmth and specific parenting practices seems
particularly important.
· Environmental factors contribute to sympathy and prosocial behaviour By o
modeling and teaching prosocial behaviour Arranging opportunities for o
their children to engage in prosocial behaviour Disciplining their children o
and eliciting prosocial behaviour from them
· Modelling and the communication of values Children tend to imitate o
other people’s helping and sharing behaviour
o Likely to imitate the prosocial behaviour of adults w/ whom they have positive
relationship
o Explains why parents and children have similar levels of prosocial behaviour and
sympathy
o To teach children prosocial values and behaviours, having discussions that
appeal to their ability to sympathize is effective
· Opportunities for prosocial activities
o Giving opportunities to engage in helpful activities can increase their willingness
to take on prosocial tasks
i.e. household tasks
o Gives children and adolescents opportunities to take others’ perspectives, to
increase their confidence that they are competent to assist and to experience
emotional rewards
· Discipline and parenting style
o High levels of prosocial behaviours and sympathy is associated w/ constructive
and supportive parenting
i.e. authoritative parenting
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o when parents are involved w/ and close to their children, the child is higher in
sympathy and regulation
o in contrast, using punishment, threats and authoritarian approach tends to be
associated w/ lack of sympathy and prosocial behaviour
· Peer influence Relationships w/ others help children learn and practice moral o
principles
i.e. fairness, justice, reciprocity, conflict resolution, not hurting or taking
advantages of others
o this practice translates into prosocial behaviour
o children are motivated to do nice things for friends bc they care about them and
doing so increases the likelihood that those friends will do nice things for them
· Interventions Collaborating with others to achieve common goals o
o Developing and practicing important social competencies such as understanding
of others’ thoughts and feelings
o Providing meaningful help to others and receiving help when it is needed
o Discussing and reflecting upon the degree to which their own and other’s
behaviour reflects fairness, concern, and respect for others, and social
responsibility
o Participating in decision making about classroom norms, rules, and activities, and
taking on responsibility for appropriate aspects of classroom life
Box – Cultural Contributions to Children’s Prosocial and Antisocial Tendencies
· Culture influences the amount of prosocial and antisocial behavior that children display.
· In more prosocial cultures, children often live in extended families, which may have helped
them learn that they are responsible for others and helping behavior is valued.
· Cultural differences were also associated with differences in aggressive behaviors.
o Children with lower rates of assaulting and reprimanding others tended to live in
cultures in which fathers were closely involved with their wives and children.
· Differences associated with cultural values regarding prosocial and antisocial behavior are
also observed among industrialized societies.
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Box School-Based Interventions for Promoting Prosocial Behaviour –
· Targeted toward nurturing helping and sharing behaviours.
· Positive findings from Child Development Project in the East Bay area of San Francisco o
Enhancing a sense of school community promotes prosocial behaviors, builds conflict
resolution skills, and fosters ethical attitudes and values, and also increases academic
motivation and decreases problem behaviors.
· Concept of the school as a caring community has become a central part of similar
interventions in past few years.
· Primary Prevention o Program targeting all individuals in a particular setting in order
to prevent the occurrence of a problematic behaviour or condition
o i.e. posters that state behavioural expectations – “be safe, be responsible”
· Secondary Prevention o Program designed to help individuals at risk for developing
a problem or condition, w/ the goal of preventing the problem or condition
· Tertiary Intervention o Program designed to help individuals who already exhibit a problem
or condition Antisocial Behaviour
· Antisocial Behaviour Disruptive, hostile, or aggressive behaviours that violate o
social norms or rules and that harm or take advantage of others
o Questions associated w/ antisocial behaviour includes …
Why do some children and adolescents exhibit aggression and antisocial
behaviour?
Are youths who commit violent or antisocial acts already aggressive in
childhood?
How do levels of aggression change w/ development?
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o Themes: individual differences, nature and nurture, sociocultural context,
research and children’s welfare
· In the United States in 2010, juveniles younger than 18 were involved in:
o 8% of murder arrests 12% of aggravated assault arrests 23% of burglary o o
arrests; 24% of robbery arrests 14% or rapes; 14% of all violent crimes; and o
22% of property crimes
The Development of Aggression and Other Antisocial Behaviours
· Aggression
o Behaviour aimed at harming or injuring others
o It emerges before 12 months of age, usually over trying to tug objects away from
each other
o Around 18 months of age, physical aggression is developed and increases in
frequency
Such as hitting and pushing
Particularly over the possession of objects
· Instrumental Aggression Aggression motivated by the desire o
to obtain a concrete goal
i.e. gaining possession of a toy or getting a better place in line
· Relational Aggression Intended to harm others by damaging o
their peer relationships
· Physical Aggression
o Decreases during preschool and elementary school years (when language takes
over) because of children’s use of verbal and relational aggression and their
developing abilities to resolve conflicts and control their own emotions.
o Children tend to engage in relationship aggression Violence increases during o
adolescences
· In elementary school children, aggression is often hostile, arising from the desire to hurt
another person or the need to protect oneself against a perceived threat to self-esteem.
· Covert types of antisocial behaviors such as lying and stealing also occur with
considerable frequency in childhood.
· In mid-adolescence, serious acts of violence increase markedly, as do property and
status offenses.
· At age 17, 29% of males and 12% of females report committing at least one serious
violent offense.
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· There is consistency between aggressive behaviour in childhood and adolescence.
· Childhood aggression leads to criminal behaviour later on.
· Biological factors:
o Neurological deficits
i.e. brain dysfunction
underlies problems such as ADHD
prominent w/ age which results in troubled relations w/ parents, peers,
and teachers
problems w/ attention makes it difficult for aggressive children to
consider all info in social situation before deciding how to act
o Family risk factors
Includes mother’s being single at birth, stressed prenatally and during
child’s preschool year, psychologically unavailable in preschool years
o Poor impulse control, regulation of aggression
· Children, especially boys, who are aggressive and prone to conduct problems in middle
childhood tend to be aggressive and delinquent in adolescence.
· Many children who are aggressive from early in life have neurological deficits that
underlie such problems as difficulty in paying attention and hyperactivity.
· Early-onset conduct problems are also associated with a range of family risk factors. In
contrast, conduct problems that emerge in adolescence are more likely to be associated
with being a member of an ethnic minority group and to interacting with deviate peer
groups.
· Most adolescents who perform delinquent acts have no history of aggression or
antisocial behavior before age 11. These adolescents typically stop engaging in antisocial
behavior later in adolescence or adulthood.
Box Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder –
· ODD: Clinical disorder characterized by angry, defiant behavior that is age inappropriate
and persistent.
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· CD: includes more antisocial and aggressive behaviors that inflict pain on others and are
frequently accompanied by persistent school truancy or running away from home before
age 13.
· Estimates of the prevalence of ODD and CD range widely, but it is likely that about 3% of
U.S. youth have ODD and that 6 16% of males and 2 9% of females have CD. – –
· Variety of factors, including genetics, environmental influences, parental behavior, and
peer influences, jointly contribute to children’s development of ODD and CD.
Characteristics of Aggressive and Antisocial Behaviour of Children and Adolescents
Temperament and Personality
· Children that develop aggression and antisocial behavioural problems exhibit difficult
temperament and lack of self-regulation
· Infants who express intense neg emotion and unusual large amounts of attention have
higher levels of behaviour problems i.e. aggression o
· Preschoolers that lack control, impulsivity, high activity level, irritability and
distractibility are prone to fighting and delinquency
· Some feel neither guilt nor empathy nor sympathy for others
Social Cognition
· Hostile Attributional Bias Aggressive children are likely to attribute hostile motives to o
others in contexts in which the other person’s motives and intentions are unclear ·
Reactive Aggression
o Emotionally driven, antagonistic aggression sparked by one’s perception that
other people’s motives are hostile
· Proactive Aggression Unemotional aggression aimed at o
fulfilling a need or desire
· Children who develop problems with aggression and antisocial behavior tend to exhibit
a difficult temperament and a lack of self-regulatory skills from a very early age.
· Children who use aggression to achieve instrumental goals are less prone to
unregulated negative emotion and physiological responding than those who exhibit
angry responses to provocation.
· Some aggressive children and adolescents tend to feel neither guilt nor sympathy for
others.
· Aggressive children also differ from nonaggressive children in their social cognition.
They tend to interpret the world through an “aggressive” lens, attributing hostile
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motives to others in contexts in which the other person’s intentions are unclear; having
hostile goals in social situations; and generating fewer and more aggressive reasons
than do nonaggressive children when faced with negative social situations. They are
inclined to evaluate aggressive responses more favorably and prosocial responses less
favorably than do nonaggressive children. However, not all aggressive children exhibit
the same deficits.
· Children prone to reactive aggression emotionally driven, antagonistic aggression are — —
particularly likely to perceive other people’s motives as hostile and to generate and
accept aggressive responses to provocation.
· In contrast, children prone to proactive aggression unemotional aggression aimed at —
fulfilling a need or desire tend to anticipate more positive social consequences for —
aggression.
The Origins of Aggression and Antisocial Behaviour
Biological Factors
· Contribute to individual difference in aggression, but the precise role is
unclear Genetic o
Twin studies suggest antisocial behaviour run in families and is due to
genetics
o Heredity
Plays a role when environmental factors are major contributors too
Contributes to proactive and reactive aggression Difficult o
temperament
o Hormonal imbalance: high testosterone levels (although results are mixed)
i.e. testosterone levels seem to be related to activity level and responses
to provocation and high testosterone levels are linked to aggressive
behaviour
o Neurological deficits
Affects attention and regulatory capabilities
However, the biological correlates of aggression probably are neither
necessary nor sufficient to cause aggressive behavior in most children.
· Genetic, neurological or hormonal characteristics may put a child at risk for developing
aggressive and antisocial behaviour
Socialization of Aggression and Antisocial Behaviour
· Parental Punitiveness
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· Poor Parental Monitoring
· Parental Conflict
· Low SES is a risk Socioeconomic Status and Children’s Antisocial Behaviour o
factor because of increased stressors and Likelihood of living in single-parent o
family (risk factor for aggressive behaviour) Exposed to deficits in parenting o o
Poverty Neighbourhood violence Unplanned child of teenage parent o o o
Low-income schools that are under-resourced
· Quality of parenting experienced by antisocial children is poorer than that experienced
by other children.
· Many children whose parents often use hard but nonabusive physical punishment are
prone to problem behaviors in the early years and later aggression, especially if their
parents are cold and punitive in general, when they do not have an early secure
attachment, and when children have a difficult temperament and are unregulated.
· The relation between physical punishment and children’s antisocial behavior does not
hold, however, in cultural contexts in which physical but nonabusive punishment and
controlling parental behavior are seen as responsible when coupled with parental
support and normal demands for compliance.
· In contrast, abusive punishment is likely to be associated with the development of
antisocial tendencies regardless of race, ethnicity, or culture.
· Parents who use abusive punishment provide their children with salient models of
aggression.
· Children who are low in self-regulation tend to elicit harsher discipline.
· It is difficult to separate the effects of genetics and socialization in determining the
causes of children’s aggression.
· The relation between punitive parenting and children’s aggression can, of course, have a
genetic component.
· Another factor that can increase children’s antisocial behavior is ineffective parenting.
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· Parents who are inconsistent in administering discipline and parents who fail to monitor
their children’s behavior and activities are more likely than other parents to have
aggressive and delinquent children.
· The aggression of children who are out of control is often unintentionally reinforced by
parents when they give in to their children’s temper and demands.
· Children who are frequently exposed to verbal and physical violence between their
parents tend to be more antisocial and aggressive than other children.
· Embattled parents model aggressive behavior, and children whose mothers are abused
tend to believe domestic violence is acceptable or even normal. Marital hostility
predicts hostile parenting, which in turn predicts children’s aggression.
Peer Influence
· Having antisocial friends or being part of an antisocial peer group can contribute to
antisocial activities.
· Having aggressive friends and being exposed to violence
· Genetic tendency toward aggression is stronger for individuals who have aggressive
friends.
· Susceptibility to peer pressure and influence of a larger peer group ·
More aggression in less acculturated children Membership in a
gang:
· Likelihood to join if they come from neighbourhood with high rate of resident runover,
antisocial personality, and have psychopathic tendencies
· Joining a gang increases delinquent behaviour over and above effects of prior
behaviour/association with delinquent peers
· Teenage gang members responsible for much of serious violence in USA
Biology and Socialization: Their Joint Influence on Children’s Antisocial Behaviour ·
Aggressive behaviour is caused by biological, cultural, peer, and familial
factors.
· Intervention programs are successful.
· Positive youth development An approach to youth intervention that focuses on o
developing and nurturing strengths and assets, rather than on correcting weaknesses
and deficits
· Service learning A strategy for promoting positive youth development that o
integrates schoolbased instruction with community involvement in order to promote
civic responsibility and enhance learning
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· It is difficult to separate the specific biological, cultural, peer, and familial factors that
affect the development of antisocial behavior.
· Nonetheless, it is clear that parental treatment of children clearly affects children’s
aggression and antisocial behavior.
· Although socialization in and of itself plays a role in the development of antisocial
behavior, genetically informed research illustrates that often it is the combination of
genetic and environmental factors that predict children’s antisocial, aggressive behavior.
· Moreover, some children are more sensitive to the quality of parents than others are.
The degree of aggression is affected by a combination of heredity and the environment.
