Hostile attributional biases among aggressive boys are exacerbated under conditions of threats to the self

Previous studies have found a tendency for aggressive boys to display hostile attributional biases and social cue interpretation deficits. It was hypothesized that these biases and deficits would be exaggerated under conditions of social anxiety and threat. Aggressive and nonaggressive boys aged 8 - 10 (total N = 65) were administered tests of attributional tendencies and social cue interpretation skills (via videorecorded stimuli) under relaxed and threatening conditions. It was found that, relative to normal boys, aggressive boys displayed a bias toward attributing hostile intentions to peers, a deficit in interpreting accurately others' intentions, and a deficit in linking interpretations to behavioral responses. The hypothesis that these biases and deficits would be exaggerated under conditions of threat was also supported. Findings were interpreted as consistent with theories of preemptive processing and emotional vulnerability in aggressive boys.     

Behavior problems of peer-neglected and peer-rejected elementary-age children: parent and teacher perspectives

Rejected, neglected, popular, and average-status children were selected on the basis of positive and negative sociometric measures from a total sample of 870 8- and 11-year-old children. Teachers completed the School Behavior Checklist and parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist for selected children. No age or sex differences were found. On both scales, rejected children were found to exhibit more behavior problems than neglected, popular, or average children. Neglected children did not exhibit more behavior problems than children of average status.     

幼儿攻击性行为的原因及对策研究

攻击性行为是在幼儿中比较常见的一种不良行为,具有此种行为的儿童往往很难建立良好的同伴的关系,以致影响幼儿以后的身心健康。本文主要探讨幼儿攻击性行为形成的原因,并相应的提出一些有效的控制幼儿攻击性行为的对策。     

Social cognition in context: validating a cartoon-based attributional measure for urban girls

Standard approaches to the development of psychological measures emphasize the role of the research team in identifying constructs, generating and retaining items, and establishing psychometric soundness. Although there are a number of strengths associated with these methods, the resulting measures may not be culturally sensitive to minority cultural groups. In order to address this need, the authors partnered with African American inner-city 3rd- and 4th-grade girls (predominantly 9- and 10-year-olds) to design and validate a cartoon-based hostile attributional bias measure that is developmentally and culturally sensitive. This paper illustrates how a partnership-based research model can be used to design measurement tools sensitive to the ways in which developmental processes are influenced by an urban, low-income, ecological context.     

Stability of biases in self-evaluation and relations to well-being among elementary school children

This paper aims to investigate to what extent a bias in self-evaluation is an enduring characteristic among children, and whether there is a relationship between the trajectory of children's self-evaluation bias over a five-year period and their psychosocial adjustment. 462 children (200 boys) in Grade 3 (mean age = 8.6 years old) or Grade 4 (mean age = 9.7 years old) at the outset of the study participated following their parents’ written consent. The group-based approach using a multinomial modeling strategy allowed identifying five groups based on changes in the children's self-evaluation bias over the five-year period. Children in the stable and highly positive bias group stood out as having markedly more positive scores on all indices of psychosocial adjustment, and also outperformed the other children in achievement in language arts and math.     

Teacher-student relationships as compensatory resources for aggressive children

This 2-year prospective investigation examined the association between the quality of teacher-student relationships and children's levels of aggression in a sample of 140 second- and third-grade aggressive children (M age = 8.18). Consistent with the proposed dual-risk compensatory hypothesis, positive teacher-student relationships were more beneficial for aggressive African American and Hispanic children than for aggressive Caucasian children. Data did not support a moderating effect of negative parent-child relationship quality on the association between supportive teacher-student relationships and aggression. Findings underscore the importance of recruiting and preparing teachers capable of establishing supportive relationships with aggressive African American and Hispanic children. Results also suggest the need for multiple reporters of relationship quality in future research.     

学前儿童攻击性行为的原因及对策分析

学前儿童攻击性行为是幼儿园中比较常见的问题行为之一,也被称为侵犯性行为。根据学前儿童攻击行为的性质可以划分为无意性、表现性、工具性和敌意性这四种类型。学前儿童攻击行为产生的原因主要有来自个人的生理学因素和理解歪曲因素,家庭的教养方式,幼儿园教师的关注度程度和强化方式以及社会影响等。有效解决学前儿童的攻击性行为可以从教给儿童正确解决的问题的方式方法,提供给儿童适合的模仿榜样,强化儿童亲近社会的行为以及引导学前儿童正确观看动画片内容这些方面着手。     

Academic persistence and attributional style in fifth graders

Students' attributional styles regarding academic successes and failures were hypothesized to be moderators of persistence in academic tasks. Attributional style was assessed in 72 fifth graders using the Sydney Attribution Scale (SAS). Persistence was assessed using two behavioral measures and teacher ratings. The behavioral persistence measures involved the number of tasks attempted and time spent working on a difficult reading task and a problem-solving task. The behavioral measures were highly correlated (r = .74) but were unrelated to teacher-rated persistence. Attributional style predicted teacher-rated persistence, R² = .42, F(12, 59) = 3.6, p<.001, but did not predict any of the behavioral persistence measures. Results suggest that students' self-reported attributional styles are related to teacher judgments of persistence. The lack of agreement between teacher ratings and behavioral measures of persistence may have implications for the generalization of research findings relying on either behavioral or teacher-rated persistence measures.     

Social processes and creative collaboration in children

Although there is an extensive body of literature that investigates the process and outcomes of children’s collaboration on scientific reasoning tasks, very little work has focussed on the nature and quality of children’s collaboration on creative tasks. One study reported here used a questionnaire to music teachers to ask about their typical design of musical tasks in the classroom and the factors that influenced these decisions. A further study reported here investigated the effects of friendship, gender and previous musical experience upon the interactional processes and musical outcome of children’s collaborative compositions. The design included comparison between friendship pairs and non-friendship pairs and also between males and females, with 11–12 year old children at an English middle school. All pairs consisted of one child with previous musical experience and one child without. All compositional sessions were video taped and the musical and verbal elements were coded with reference to the proportion of transactive and non-transactive elements present. Results demonstrated that the communication (both verbal and musical) between the friendship pairs was qualitatively different from the communication in the non-friendship pairs. Specifically, the friendship pairs showed more transactive communication and, when a teacher rated the final compositions, the friendship pairs scored significantly higher. Multiple regression analysis highlighted that the amount of transactive communication was a significant predicator of the quality of the children’s composition. The results are discussed with reference to the nature of communication, the impact of friendship and the assessment of creative work.     

Peer rejection and social information-processing factors in the development of aggressive behavior problems in children

The relation between social rejection and growth in antisocial behavior was investigated. In Study 1,259 boys and girls (34% African American) were followed from Grades 1 to 3 (ages 6-8 years) to Grades 5 to 7 (ages 10-12 years). Early peer rejection predicted growth in aggression. In Study 2,585 boys and girls (16% African American) were followed from kindergarten to Grade 3 (ages 5-8 years), and findings were replicated. Furthermore, early aggression moderated the effect of rejection, such that rejection exacerbated antisocial development only among children initially disposed toward aggression. In Study 3, social information-processing patterns measured in Study 1 were found to mediate partially the effect of early rejection on later aggression. In Study 4, processing patterns measured in Study 2 replicated the mediation effect. Findings are integrated into a recursive model of antisocial development.     

Prediction of attributional consequences in an actual achievement setting

One hundred ninety-six undergraduates who received feedback on a midterm examination participated in this study. A random subgroup formed a cross-validation sample. Through the use of regression analysis, it was found that both objective and subjective performance ratings did not predict subjects' expectancy ratings but did substantially predict their ratings of pride/shame. Inclusion of attributions enhanced prediction of expectancy but not pride/shame ratings of subjects. On the basis of the findings from this study, a partial reformulation of Weiner's attributional model was proposed. In addition, numerous methodological concerns associated with attributional research were examined.     

“弱势群体”的形成及其对子女的影响

在我国社会经济急速转型时期,由于社会政治、经济、文化、自然等多重因素的影响,出现了一个特殊的群体——“弱势群体”.家庭的弱势,对其子女的学习、品德及身心健康造成了严重的影响.在构建和谐社会、促进教育公平的今天,“弱势群体”的教育问题应该引起全社会的关注.     

Social organization and the maintenance of aggressive behavior in community-housed male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)

The waning of aggressive behavior in two groups of community-housed maleBetta was studied by observing incidences of display and fighting behaviors. In Experiment 1, observations were made during the establishment of a community, while it was maintained at a stable size, and during systematic removal of the dominant (alpha) males. Experiment 2 investigated the aggressive interactions of males in a stable-sized population, maintained for a period of 10 weeks. The results indicate that prolonged periods of constant conspecific exposure do not necessarily result in a significant attenuation of display behaviors. The data further indicate that the social organization (as determined from aggressive interactions) appears to be one in which the top- and bottom-ranking males are clearly defined. It is suggested that the maintenance of aggressive behavior among community-housed maleBetta may well be related to their social position.     

Social behavior of children in a classroom setting

Forty-two children (25 boys, 17 girls) in two traditional second-grade classrooms were videotaped during normal classroom activity until approximately 50 min of tape was accumulated for each child. A variety of behaviors was then coded on an event recorder, including child-child interactions, general behaviors, and child-teacher interactions. Teacher evaluations expressed as ratings between bipolar adjectives were also obtained. A principal components analysis revealed six distinct factors. The strongest factor was composed of teacher-child interactions. Analyses of variance indicated that sex and birth order differences were limited. Compared to boys, girls engaged in more verbalization with same-sex peers (p < .001) and more cooperation with same-sex peers (p < .05). Teacher's evaluations were not significantly influenced by the sex of the children. Favorable teacher evaluations were clearly associated with the extent to which a child approached and remained in proximity to the teacher.     

Social integration of deaf children in inclusive settings

This article examines social integration of deaf children in inclusive settings in The Netherlands. Eighteen Grade 1-5 deaf children and their 344 hearing classmates completed 2 sociometric tasks, peer ratings and peer nomination, to measure peer acceptance, social competence, and friendship relations. Deaf and hearing children were found to be similar in their peer acceptance and friendship relations, but differences occurred in social competence. Deaf children scored lower than hearing children on prosocial behavior and higher on socially withdrawn behavior. Structural equation modeling showed peer acceptance, social competence, and friendship relations to be stable over time, and the structure of interrelations between variables at 2 measurements were found to be the same for deaf and hearing participants.     

Social impact of stimulant treatment for hyperactive children

Most children diagnosed with ADHD have extensive and enduring problems in the social arena. Despite its limitations, the standard stimulant treatment regimen for children with ADHD is a useful therapeutic modality as well as an heuristic tool for increasing our understanding of both optimal and problematic interpersonal functioning. This article explores the social impact of stimulant treatment, delineating documented improvements, identifying elusive domains and puzzling patterns, and highlighting unintended and potentially undesirable outcomes. Medication-related changes in the behaviors and perceptions of the diagnosed child's adult caretakers are distinguished from those observed in peers, and the need to enhance our understanding of peer cultures is underscored. We present new findings on the effects of stimulant treatment on social cognition and affect, and then discuss the critical need to map the attributional sequelae of any treatment approach. The final sections explore contemporary controversies and improved strategies for balancing the costs, risks, and benefits of stimulant treatment in the service of enhancing interpersonal competence, satisfaction, and harmony.     

Combined strategy and attributional training for seventh grade average and poor readers

This paper reports on a study examining the effects of combined strategy and attributional training through small-group intervention in a specific reading task context. The training aims to provide instruction in the use of reading strategies while at the same time to convince students that their reading performance is attributable to their use of effective strategies, which is under their personal control. Four grade 7 (13 year old) classes, consisting of 40 poor readers and 56 average readers, participated in the study. Students were randomly allocated to one of four instruction conditions involving different combinations of strategy instruction and attributional training. Instruction was provided in small groups of 6 to 8 students over nine one-hour sessions. Results indicated that teaching poor readers use of effective reading strategies, while convincing them that reading successes and failures were attributable to use of effective or ineffective strategies, not only improved their comprehension performance and increased use of reading strategies, but also reduced their perceptions of learned helplessness.     

The self-concept and aggressive behavior among elementary school children from two socioeconomic areas and two grade levels

An investigation was conducted to examine the relationship between a child's self-concept and the tendency to behave aggressively. Boys and girls (N=229) in eight classrooms (two third grades and two sixth grades from two different socioeconomic areas within the Provo, Utah, School District) were administered the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale and the Children's Action Tendency Scale. Correlation coefficients were computed, and analysis of variance tests were used to determine the nature of variable relationships. No overall correlational pattern was found among self-concept and aggression scores. The analysis of variance results revealed a significantly larger mean aggressiveness score among children with low self-concepts when compared to children with medium and high self-concepts. Girls, while less aggressive than boys, became more aggressive with age, while boys' aggressiveness scores declined. Implications of the results were discussed in terms of methods of behavior change utilized by school personnel.     

Social information processing and emotional understanding in children with LD

The present study aimed to comprehensively examine social cognition processes in children with and without learning disabilities (LD), focusing on social information processing (SIP) and complex emotional understanding capabilities such as understanding complex, mixed, and hidden emotions. Participants were 50 children with LD (age range 9.4-12.7; 35 boys, 15 girls) and 50 children without LD matched on grade, age, and gender. Children analyzed 4 social vignettes using Dodge's SIP model and completed 2 emotional recognition tasks (pictures and stories) and 4 emotional knowledge tasks, such as providing definitions and examples for 5 emotions (e.g., loneliness, pride, embarrassment). Study results demonstrated that children with LD had major difficulties in SIP processes and consistent difficulties with the different tasks in the understanding of complex emotions and in higher emotional understanding capabilities, such as understanding that 2 conflicting emotions (love and hate) can be simultaneously experienced. We discuss the implications of such difficulties for the understanding of social competence in children with LD as well as their implications for social skills intervention.