Direct and indirect aggressive levels in children , and how it shows in the characteristics of their hero
Authors
Almefjord-Boylan, Ida
Issue Date
2005
Degree
BA in Psychology
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
Items in Esource are protected by copyright. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/copyright holder.
Abstract
In the 1960's Bandura demonstrated the influence of role-models when children adopt aggressive behaviour. An important part of the definition of aggression is the intent to injure someone, the intent can be of a direct level in physical violence or of an indirect level by social manipulation of others. This leads to the importance of what role-models are available to the child from media and the child's direct environment, which affect their developing of aggression level. The aim of this study is to compare the characteristics of a child's hero with the type of aggression the child is using, direct or indirect. The study had 79 participants aged 10-12 complete a survey consistent of Direct and Indirect Aggression Scales (Bjorkqvist et al., 1992), and a questionnaire about the characteristics of their hero. It's hypothesized that a child will use the same level of aggression as their hero uses to solve social problems. The implications and contributions of this study are to predict and identify children at risk for aggression related crime. The conclusion of this study showed that there was no significant difference of selected hero traits between the participants in the direct and indirect level of aggression, therefore the Null-hypoFinal Year Project will be retained and the alternative hypoFinal Year Project will be rejected.