Prosocial Behavior in Adolescents (Quiz 9)

Within our class we have been studying aggression and how individuals become aggressive. The flip side of this is when an individual acts out to help others, known as prosocial behavior. I believe that prosocial behavior will develop over late childhood and adolelscence, and have found evidence to support it. The first article I found was one by Carole Tabor and David R. Shaffer in 1981, which examines children betwen the ages of 5 and 10 and how they interact with others prosocially. The other was a twin study done by Jane Scourfield, Bethan John, Neilson Martin, and Peter McGuffin using parent and teacher reports of 89 female and 74 male monozygotic (MZ) and 50 female and 52 male dizygotic (DZ) twins. I then divised my own method for testing this hypothesis, which will be described later on.

The first experiment by Tabor and Shaffer had 3 hypotheses that they wanted to test: 1) "Older children wil share more of their valuable resources and be quicker to assist a distressed peer than will younger children," 2) Chilcren will share more valuable resources with and be quicker to assist and attractive as opposed to an unattractive peer. Moreover, the impact of the per;s atractiveness on prosocial behavior wil be greater for older than for younger children," and finally, 3) "Children wil be quicker to assist a peer whose need for assistance is substantial as compared with a per whose ned for help is minimal. Moreover, the impact of the peer's need for assistance on helping behavior will be greater for older than for younger children." The method they decided to use to test their hypotheses involved 20 male and 20 females elementary age students, organized by grade level; first, second and third graders. The children were then randomly placed into groups of attractive vs unattractive peer and high vs low need for help along with being split by age and sex. Each child is told that they are to be in a drawing contest and their partner is of the same age and sex as them but they are either really good and they will win for sure or really bad and there is no chance for them to win, they are also told that there is a prize at the end. For participating each child is given 5 pennies and then told that they don't have enough for their partner so if they want they may give some pennies to their peer. Then an accident is staged in the room where their partner supposibly is with a recording of either a child getting hurt a lot or not very much. Finally the child is told that they will play a game and get a surprise at the end, when the game is actually a test of the child's empathic abilities and role-taking skills.

Once the experiment was finished the results found by Tabor and Shaffer mostly supported their hypotheses with only a few exceptions. The study found that the peers with a high need for help were percied as hurt much worse and in need of more assistance, but peer attractive only had a weak correlation to the time it took for a child to respond when they were hurt. Also, the older children (3rd grade) shared more of their pennies on average with their peer than 2nd graders who, in turn, shared more than the 1st graders. This however did not provide support for hypothesis 2 becuase attractiveness did not play a role in sharing. The children responded faster to peers who they thought were hurt more however, helping patterns didn't change with the older children. The final test found that all three age levels were reasonably good at reading other's emotions and children who showed more empathic ability shared more pennies with their partner. In each test the older children were shown to be more prosocially developed than the younger, Tabor and Shaffer argue that this is because they have had more time to learn prosocial behaviors and using them has more of an impact on their lives than the younger children. While this study did not test adolescence I still feel that it is helpful in showing that my hypothesis may be true.

The second study I read, by Scourfield, John, Martin, and McGuffin, was simply based on parent and teacher reports done on twin, monozygotic and dizygotic. The aim of their study was to study genetic and environmental factors on prosocial behavior. The study was done on a group of 89 MZ females, 74 MZ males, 50 DZ females, 52 DZ males and 115 opposite-sex DZ pairs between the ages of 5 and 17. Each pair's parents were sent a "Strength and Difficulties Questionanaire" that measured abroad range of behaviors and emotional problems of each child using 25 items with 5 subscale scores: conduct problems, prosocial behavior, hyperactivity, emotional symptoms and peer problems. Our authors also took into account any biases that a teacher or parent may have in rating their child's prosocial behavior and factored it (as best as they could) out of the data. Both reports turned out higher prosocial scores in females, rather than in males, but in younger children (ages 5-11) the sex differences were more based on teacher reports. Mean scores for MZ pairs were the same as those for DZ pairs of twins in both reports. From parent reports they found that older children's influences were more genetic and younger children's influences are more environmental, while there is a trend here, it is not significant enough to be measured when equaled throughout age groups. The same pattern emerged for the teacher reports as well, but remained significant after constraining the influences to be equal across age groups.

Both studies seem to show that as children age they become more prosocial, which is consistent with my hypothesis that as children and adolescents develop they become more prosocial. The method I have chosen to test this hypothesis is an observational study. My associate and I will go to WHitehall high and middles school during an average school day. Between classes we will walk through each grade's designated hall of lockers and drop and armful of books and papers. We will be looking for how many individuals attempt to assist us, to what extent we recieve assistance, and how long it takes to achieve a response, along with any other interesting behaviors that occur. The age groups that will be studied include ages 14-15 (freshman), 15-16 (sophomores), 16-17 (juniors), and 17-18 (seniors. Unfortunately the senior class knows us personally, so it may be more beneficial to study 13-14 yr olds in 8th grade and maybe even 12-13 yr olds in 7th grade. Hopefully my findings will match those of Tabor and Shaffer.

Citation:

1) Tabor, C., & Shaffer, D. (1981). EFFECTS OF AGE ON BENEFACTOR, ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE RECIPIENT, AND THE RECIPIENT'S NEED FOR ASSISTANCE ON PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN CHILDREN'S DYADS. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 9(2), 163

2) Scourfield, J., John, B., Martin, N., & McGuffin, P. (2004). The development of prosocial behaviour in children and adolescents: a twin study. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 45(5), 927-935

Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child?

Hicks-Pass, S. (2009). Corporal Punishment in America Today: Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child? A Systematic Review of the Literature. Best Practice in Mental Health: An International Journal, 5(2), 71-88.

Our discussion on spanking and aggression sparked an interest to research this heated topic further. The article discusses both sides of the issue and is quick to point out further research is needed. This archival study researches and summarizes articles dealing with detrimental, positive, and negative effects of corporal punishment on children.

The decision and reason to spank or not to spank is different for everyone. This article points out spanking and corporal punishment, frequency and severity can be interpreted differently. For most people, there is a difference between spanking (an occasional swat on the bum), in a disciplinary measure as compared to regular beatings for no reason. Some might argue both are child abuse and will have long-term detrimental effects on the child.

This article made an interesting point. If in 1999, 94% of parents spanked and spanking causes aggression, suicidal tendencies, and psychiatric symptoms, then what factors account for the fact that 94% of the population is not suicidal, aggressive, or depressed? The article then points out that “if spanking is done in a context of strong emotional support for the child, it does not appear to contribute to a significant increase in behavior problems.” The quality of parental involvement is another contributing factor to spanking not having a long term negative effect on a child. This supports that one can spank correctly if they choose to use this form of discipline.

How helpful are people?

Introduction:
When a person is walking down the hall and drops their notebook spilling their papers everywhere, do people stop to help? Does it matter if the person is dressed well? What if they are in grungy clothes, doe that affect whether people will help them? My hypothesis is that people who are dressed nicer or are more attractive will receive more help than people who are dressed grungy. Articles I have come across have discussed that people are willing to help complete strangers as long as they are attractive or well put together.

Literature Review:
· Wilson, David W. Journal of Social Psychology: Helping Behavior and Physical Attractiveness. http://web.ebscohost.com.mtproxy.lib.umt.edu:3048/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=7&sid=9c1c6d90-e888-4533-bef2-cb8c47774341%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=5390916
· Juhnke, Ralph, Bernie Barmann, Mike Cunningham, Edward Smith, Kris Vickery, Jeff Hohl, Joshua Quinones. Journal of Social Psychology: Effects of Attractiveness and Nature of Request on Helping Behavior. http://web.ebscohost.com.mtproxy.lib.umt.edu:3048/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=7&sid=9c1c6d90-e888-4533-bef2-cb8c47774341%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=5389929

Method:
I will test my hypothesis by dressing really well one day and walking through the sub at various times of the day. I will pass by tables that have both men and women at them. I will do this ten times throughout the day. When I walk by I will drop my papers everywhere and tally if I am helped or not. A day later I will do the same thing, but I will dress very grungy and make myself as unattractive as possible. I will tally to see how many times I am helped. The terms I will be using is attractiveness- pleasing to the eye or mind, charming. Prosociality- beneficial to all parties; being nice to people in a social setting.

Quiz 9: Aggressive Driving

Introduction
Aggressive driving, often referred to as "road rage", is a problem that almost everyone has dealt with, and many people have died as a result.

The best definition I found comes from Wikipedia:

"Aggressive driving is a form of automobile operation in which an operator will deliberately behave with contempt towards other drivers and drive in such a manner as to increase the risk of an automobile accident."

People who drive aggressively often do it as a result of anger, impatience, annoyance, or frustration. They often try to voice their frustrations by how they drive, or by honking, yelling, or using obscene gestures. These actions can easily, and often do, result in an accident.

I am going to conduct a study to find out whether most aggressive drivers are male or female.

Hypothesis
Most studies have shown that men are more aggressive drivers than women. However, I notice just as many female drivers who are aggressive. Also, being a female myself, I often find myself driving aggressively. My hypothesis is that the percentage of men and women who drive aggressively will be about the same.

Methods
I will be conducting a survey that will ask the driver's age, gender, type of vehicle, and number of accidents they have been in. It will also include several "what would you do?" type scenarios, asking the participant how he/she would react in a frustrating driving situation. It will be a multiple choice format, with reactions ranging from calm to very aggressive and possibly dangerous.

I will then add up the responses based on gender. I will not be focusing on age, as I expect most of my participants to be college age.

Literature Review
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. (2009) Aggressive Driving: Research Update Retrieved December 4, 2009 from, http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/AggressiveDrivingResearchUpdate2009.pdf

Harris, P., & Houston, J. (2010). Recklessness in Context: Individual and Situational Correlates to Aggressive Driving. Environment & Behavior, 42(1), 44-60. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Ho, R., & Gee, R. (2008). Young men driving dangerously: Development of the Motives for Dangerous Driving Scale (MDDS). Australian Journal of Psychology, 60(2), 91-100. doi:10.1080/00049530701452095. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Intini, J. (2008). TOM VANDERBILT TALKS WITH JOHN INTINI ABOUT THE LINK BETWEEN CORRUPTION AND DRIVING, AND WHY A LITTLE ROAD RAGE MAY BE GOOD. Maclean's, 121(33), 16-17. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Aggressive driving. (2009, October 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:28, December 4, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aggressive_driving&oldid=320723454

We Only Want to Hurt the Ones We Love

Hypothesis
I believe that people are more likely to exhibit higher outward signs of aggressive behavior when the aggression is focused at someone they are familiar with as opposed to when it is directed at a stranger. For the purpose of this study familiarity is defined as having had several contacts with the other person in which dialogue was exchanged.

Method
I plan to use a combination of previous personal observations, archival research and a small study of my own. I am going to walk through Wal-Mart, where I am sure to run into people I know as well as people I have never had contact with. While walking through Wal-Mart I will cause frustration in random people by stopping directly in front of them, blocking their path or stepping directly in front of whatever they seem to be looking at. I will not apologize for my actions. I will then gage their reaction on a 1-5 scale, rating for how big a reaction I receive. Once I have achieved a reaction from them, I will apologize and give a brief explanation of what I was doing, hopefully this will negate the frustration they have felt and lessen their feelings of aggression. Then I will ask them questions to gage if what they felt was simply frustration or if they were starting to have aggressive feelings. The reaction they display will correlate to their aggression level and if they are familiar with me or not.


Literature Review
Based on studies previously done relating to aggression towards familiar objects it has actually been shown that creating some level of familiarity with the aggressor will lessen the amount of aggression directed at their target. However, I believe that in general people are more likely to act on their aggression if they are familiar with their target. This is not to say that they feel more aggression towards familiar targets but that they are more likely to act out their feelings on them.


References
Ohbuchi, K., Ohno, T., & Mukai, H. (1993). Empathy and Aggression: Effects of Self-Disclosure and Fearful Appeal. Journal of Social Psychology, 133(2), 243-253. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Duncan, L., & Owen-Smith, A. (2006). Powerlessness and the Use of Indirect Aggression in Friendships. Sex Roles, 55(7/8), 493-502. doi:10.1007/s11199-006-9103-2.

Why do people stop and help others

Introduction:
I was reading an article on how people do not stop to help others on the highway anymore.
Are people are more apt to stop and render assistance to a female than a male that has broken down on the highway. Are people more likely to stop and aid a female in a high status car rather than a lower status car? Do people stop because they really care or are they stopping because they feel they have something to gain by helping someone in trouble?

The two articles I found deal with why people help others. Is it because they feel they have something to gain. Also, if economic status is a factor in whether a person would stop and help a female.
Literature Review:
References
Maner, J., & Gailliot, M. (2007). Altruism and egoism: prosocial motivations for helping depend on relationship context. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37(2), 347-358. doi:10.1002/ejsp.364 Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24169149&site=ehost-live

References
Solomon, H., & Herman, L. (1977). STATUS SYMBOLS AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR: THE EFFECT OF THE VICTIM'S CAR ON HELPING. Journal of Psychology, 97(2), 271. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Methods:
To test if the sex or economic status of a person is a reason to either help or not to help them I would survey five couples. I would like to know:
Have you ever been broke down on the highway and had someone stop to help you?
Has having someone stop and help you influenced your decision to stop and help another person who was broke down?
Does the sex of the person in need make a difference in whether you will stop?
Does the type of car make a difference, if the car is new or old?

Gender aggression in cases of infidelity

INTRODUCTION-
My hypothesis is that women are more aggressive in cases of infidelity then men. Women are attached to men in the emotional and resources aspect, as men are attached to women in the sexual/reproductive aspect. Women become jealous because they see other woman as a threat to take away the emotional attachment they have with their significant others and the resources they provide. Men become jealous to prevent infidelity. Therefore when a man is faced with an act of infidelity he views the relationship as expelled, opposed to when a woman is faced with an act of infidelity she views it as a loss of resources and emotional trauma. The number of woman murdering their husbands is on the rise and nearly equal to the amount of men who murder their wives.


LITERATURE REVIEW-
Paul, L., & Galloway, J. (1994). Sexual Jealousy: Gender Differences in Response to Partner and Rival. Aggressive Behavior, 20(3), 203-211.

de Weerth, C., & Kalma, A. (1993). Female Aggression as a Response to Sexual Jealousy: A Sex Role Reversal?. Aggressive Behavior, 19(4), 265-279.

Margo, I., & Daly, M. (1992). Who kills whom in spouse killings? On the exceptional sex ratio of spousal homicides in the United States. Criminology, 30(2), 189-215.


METHOD-
I will test my hypothesis by asking the sample to read a short story about a couple who appear to be happy and about to be married. The male copy of the story will end with the boyfriend walking in on the girlfriend with another man and the female copy of the story will end with the girlfriend walking in on the boyfriend with another woman. The participants will be asked to complete the story, explaining in a short essay what would happen next. My operational definition will be how many acts of aggression are performed per participants’ story. My sample will consist of 15-20 participants. The definition I will be using for the term aggression will be, aggression is any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy, whether done out of hostility or as a calculated means to an end.