Cognitive Social Learning Mediators of Aggression

Abstract

This research explored links between aggression in elementary school children and 2 classes of social cognitions that might influence children's decisions about whether to behave aggressively. Aggressive and nonaggressive children (mean age 11.3 years) responded to 2 questionnaires. One questionnaire measured children's perceptions of their abilities to perform aggression and related behaviors (perceptions of self-efficacy), and the other measured children's beliefs about the reinforcing and punishing consequences of aggression (response-outcome expectancies). Compared to nonaggressive children, aggressive subjects reported that it is easier to perform aggression and more difficult to inhibit aggressive impulses. Aggressive children also were more confident that aggression would produce tangible rewards and would reduce aversive treatment by others. There were negligible sex differences in perceived self-efficacy for aggression but large sex differences in anticipated social and personal consequences for aggression, with girls expecting aggression to cause more suffering in the victim and to be punished more severely by the peer group and by the self. It was concluded that children's knowledge of their capabilities and children's knowledge of the consequences of their actions are factors that need to be taken into account by cognitive models of aggression.

Ideal Treatment Package for Children and Adolescents with Anger Disorders

“…These self-instructions are designed to teach a more adaptive appraisal of provoking events, thoughtful consideration of alternative responses to provocation, and control of physiological and verbal-nonverbal responses. In support of this part of the ideal intervention model, the clinical research literature reports the successful training of selfinstructions (Snyder & White, 1979), thinking ahead (Perry, Perry, & Rasmussen, 1986), attribution retraining (Lochman, 1987;Slaby & Guerra, 1988), and problem solving (Bash & Camp, 1985;Guerra & Slaby, 1990).…”

Mechanisms of Behavioral and Affective Treatment Outcomes in a Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Boys

“…This version of the OEQ (Perry, Perry, & Rasmussen, 1986) includes eight brief vignettes which elicit children’s expectations about the outcomes of aggressive behavior against a peer. In response to each vignette, participants are asked to rate the likelihood that various outcomes will occur on a four-point scale (from 1, or very sure the outcome will not occur to 4, or very sure that the outcome will occur.…”

Examining Factors Associated with (In)Stability in Social Information Processing Among Urban School Children: A Latent Transition Analytic Approach

“…These children have a well-developed hostile attribution bias, which influences their interpretation of a situation such that they infer greater hostility in others' ambiguous behavior. Aggressive children tend to have a large repertoire of aggressive responses that they believe to be more effective at obtaining goals than prosocial responses (Perry, Perry, & Rasmussen, 1986). Many interventions have been developed to modify different aspects of SIP, such as the interpretation of cues and response evaluation and decision (for a review, see Sullivan et al, 2008).…”