brendgen

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

• to see if social agg was due to genes or the environment
• to see if social agg is due to the reason as physical
• to see if one type of aggression leads to another

Question 2

sample

Answer 2

• 234 six year old twin pairs taken from the Quebec Newborn twin study
• from greater Montreal Canada area

Question 3

how was data collected and what did it consist of?

Answer 3

• data was collected longitudinally from when the twins were 5 months old to 6 years old
• data consisted of teacher and peer ratings of each twins behaviour

Question 4

procedure

Answer 4

1. sample mark
2. children were assigned to MZ and DZ based of physical appearance
3. some surveys had to be translated as some schools were english speaking but some were french speaking
4. data was collected longitudinally from when the twins were 5 months old to 6 years old
5. data consisted of teacher and peer ratings of each twins behaviour
6. ratings were gathered in the spring term of the school year to ensure those rating the twins knew them well
7. the teachers questionnaires asked them to rate each child on a 3 point scale for statements such as, “becomes friends with another child for revenge” or “gets into fights”,
8. the peers were shown photos of their classmates and asked to circles photos of 3 children who best fit 4 descriptions, e.g. “tells others not to play with a child”

Question 5

results

Answer 5

• teachers rated social aggression as M= 0.72 and SD= 1.22
• teachers rated physical aggression M= 0.78 and SD= 1.41
• peers rated physical aggression as M= -0.19, SD= 0.73

Question 6

conclusions

Answer 6

there is a strong genetic component to physical aggression but not social, which is more due to environmental factors

Question 7

strengths

Answer 7

High in validity as there was a large sample size of 234 six year old twin pairs taken from the Quebec Newborn twin study from Greater Montreal, Canada. Therefore, any anomalies with high or low ratings of physical or social aggression will be averaged out and will not skew the data, so the results of if social aggression is due genes or the environment are not affected.

High in reliability, due to the use of a standardised procedure, for example, all the ratings were taken during the spring term of the school year so those rating the twins knew them well, the teachers were given the same questionnaires consisting of rating statements like, “gets into fights” or “becomes friends with another child for revenge” using a 3 point scale and the peers were shown photos of their classmates and asked to circle 3 which best fit 4 descriptions, such as, “tells other not to play with a child”. Therefore, the research can be tested for a consistency of findings of if social aggression is due to genes of the environment.

Question 8

weaknesses

Answer 8

It lacks validity as it is a twin study. For example, MZ twins are treated more alike that DZ as they are identical and share gender. Therefore, we assume that the genetic similarity is the reason for the higher concordance rates, when it may be due to the greater environmental similarity. Meaning the aggression rates may not be due to genes at all.

alt explanation, bandura, slt

Question 9

application

Answer 9

High application to society as if we know that social aggression is due to the environment we can offer ways to reduce it, for example reducing bullying it schools by putting preventions in place to teach children not to imitate acts of verbal aggression that they may witness.