TMA 01 Part 1: Summarizing and interpreting a table
The information in the table can be used to explain aggressive behavior. The results show that children who were exposed to an aggressive model behaved more aggressively than compared to the children in the control condition. This shows that exposure to an aggressive model increases the amount of aggressive behavior that is shown by children. It did not matter whether the model was in a film or live. It also did not matter whether the model was a fantasy creature or human (Oates, J. 2005, 123). This can be seen from the table as the average imitative aggression was higher in the different conditions than in the control condition.
The results from the table also show that boys exhibit higher aggression scores as compared to girls. This can be seen in the real life model condition where the average amount of imitative aggression are 19.2 and 38.4 for girls and boys respectively given live models of their own gender. The gender of the model also influences the level of aggression which is seen in boys. The condition also made the levels of aggression vary. An example is the live model condition where a higher level of aggression was seen in boys especially in the presence of a male model as compared to a live female model. In imitating aggression, the effect of the gender of the model was less pronounced when it came to girls though the levels of aggression were still higher with female models for girls (Oates, J. 2005, 120).
TMA 01 Part 2: Short Report
The theory of social learning gives an optimistic theory of aggression. This is because it argues that a pro-social behavior can be learnt in a similar way as negative behavior (Oates, J. 2005, 110). The theory suggests that it is possible to change aggressive behavior as it is a behavior that can be learnt. Follow up study on Bandura’s work has shown that modeling behavior by children is influenced by if the model is rewarded for their actions. They are less likely to model a behavior if the adult model is reprimanded or punished for their violent actions.
People around a child should respond by reinforcement or punishment to the behavior that a child imitates. If a child copies the behavior of the model and they get rewarded for it, they are more likely to continue with the behavior. Example is if a parent sees their child helping in clearing the table after a meal, and they thank them. This would be rewarding for the child as they would feel appreciated, hence; they will, more likely, repeat the positive behavior. This is because the behavior has been reinforced.
Reinforcement can be negative or positive or internal and external. When a child is looking for approval from peers or parents, this kind of approval is external reinforcement The feeling of happiness after being approved is an internal reinforcement. A child acts in a way that they think would earn them approval as they desire approval.
Positive or negative reinforcement has little impact on the child if the external reinforcement does not match the child’s individual needs. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and it is important as it leads to change in the behavior of a person. For effective parenting, parents should appraise their children for their positive behavior so that the child continues with the good behavior. Bad behavior should result to punishment so that the child does not continue with it. .
Social learning has an impact on aggression. This is because aggression is a behavior that can be modeled by children. Parents should therefore ensure that what they teach their children is good by being good role models. Children imitation their parents can be witnessed when they are playing with their toys. This is similar to the figure that was used in part one. Children copied the behavior of the models in the conditions.
Imitating of behavior by children is similar to the situation of a double-edged sword. This is because the behavior which is being modeled could be that which is not approved by society or parents. Examples of negative behavior that could be imitated by children are swearing aggression and smoking. At their young age, children are continuously learning different things both desirable and undesirable. This is usually achieved in the process of imitation and observation. To support this theory, a predictor of whether somebody can be a smoker would depend on whether their parents were smokers. Children are likely to be smokers if their parents had this habit. Parents should, therefore, try and be the best role models for their children. This would include ensuring that the children grow up in a good environment with positive behavior.
Media violence has an impact in the degree of violence in the society as seen in the experiment. The criticism in this argument is that there are several other factors that influence whether children imitate screen violence. This could be the level of aggression that children have may have been learnt in family relationships or other sources. For good parenting, guardians should ensure that they monitor what their children watch. This would be to ensure that children watch contents that are helpful and not destructive to the children.
Physical forms of punishments are usually a demonstration of the behavior parents trying to prevent in their children. Like in the experiment, the children may end up imitating the violent behavior and use it on their age mates when agitated or frustrated. Evidence has shown that physical punishment increases the likelihood of the child becoming more and not less aggressive. Parents should, therefore, look for healthy ways of punishing their children. They should talk to their children rather than using physical punishments that may traumatize them, and make the children more aggressive.
TMA 01 Part 3: Self-Reflection
The assignment was a good learning experience. It has enabled me to understand the work that I learnt in class. The problem I encountered was dividing the work into parts as I think it would be easier doing it as an essay. All in all, the work can help parents to ensure good behavior of their children as they learn and grow.
Reference
Oates J. 2005. Learning from watching. 103-137. Wiley-Blackwell press.
