Contemporary Study Flashcards
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Aims
Aims-
1) To see if SOCIAL AGGRESSION can be caused by GENES or the ENVIRONMENT
2) To see if SOCIAL AGGRESSION shares the same CAUSE as PHYSICAL AGGRESSION
3) To see if ONE TYPE of aggression leads to ANOTHER
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Sample
Sample-
- Participants assigned from birth from QUEBEC NEWBORN TWIN STUDY (QNTS), all twin pairs born NOV 1995-JULY1998
- At the beginning had 332 pairs, but only those with COMPLETE DATA were used= 234
- 44 MZ MALES, 50 MZ FEMALES, 41 DZ MALES, 32 DZ FEMALES, 67DZ MIXED SEX
- Assigned MZ/DZ based upon PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 123 DNA TESTS= 94% correct to back this up, considered ‘RELIABLE ENOUGH’
- CONSENT- written consent from PARENTS, approached SCHOOLS
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Procedure 1
Procedure-
-2 ratings of twins behaviour 1) TEACHER 2) CLASSMATES
-TEACHER RATINGS= based on agreement with 6 STATEMENTS taken from PRESCHOOL SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR SCALE + DIRECT + INDIRECT AGGRESSION SCALES eg- ‘what extent does the child try to make others DISLIKE ANOTHER CHILD’- SOCIAL AGGRESSION
‘To what extent does the child get into FIGHTS’- PHYSICAL AGGRESSION
Scores= 3 point scale 0-NEVER 1-SOMETIMES 2-OFTEN
6 statements: - tries to make others dislike a child -says bad thing/nasty rumours -friends with another child for revenge -fights -physical attacks -hits,bites,kicks others
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Procedure 2
Procedure-
PEER RATINGS- Done by giving each child in the twin’s classes a BOOKLET with EVERY CHILD in the classes PHOTO. All asked then to CIRCLE 3 PICTURES of children that they though MATCHED 4 DIFFERENT BEHAVIOUR DESCRIPTORS- eg ‘tell others not to play with a child= SOCIAL AGGRESSION, ‘gets into fights’= PHYSICAL AGGRESSION
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Research and data method, controls
Research method- Longitudinal, Field experiment
Data gathered- at 5,18,48,60 MONTHS then again at 6YEARS= final data that researchers FOCUSED STUDY ON
Gathered in the SPRING TERM= ensures twins were WELL KNOWN by those providing ratings
Language barriers- Some ENGLISH + some FRENCH speaking schools, surveys TRANSLATED and researchers had to speak BOTH LANGUAGES
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Results in relation to Aim 1
Results-
Aim 1- There was a much HIGHER CORRELATION between the ratings of MZ TWIN PAIRS on PHYSICAL AGGRESSION than between SAME SEX DZ TWINS
R= 0.79, STRONG POSITIVE CORRELATION
This would suggest in relation to the first aim, PHYSICAL AGGRESSION may be a result of GENETIC FACTORS, whereas SOCIAL AGGRESSION maybe better explained by ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Results in relation to Aim 2
Aim 2-
A CORRELATION was found between PHYSICAL and SOCIAL AGGRESSION in the twins that was best explained by GENES rather than the fact the twins shared the SAME ENVIRONMENT
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Results in relation to Aim 3
Aim 3-
The dat suggests that PHYSICAL AGGRESSION may lead to SOCIAL AGGRESSION but NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. As young children are only able to express aggression PHYSICALLY, but as LANGUAGE and COGNITIVE skills develop- so do their abilities to demonstrate AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR in NEW WAYS
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
A01- Conclusion
Conclusion-
- The research concludes that there seems to be a STRONG GENETIC COMPONENT to PHYSICAL AGGRESSION but not SOCIAL AGGRESSION- which is more likely ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
- Children who were more PHYSICALLY AGGRESSIVE also more likely to display SOCIAL AGGRESSION, probably because of an INTERACTION between GENES and the ENVIRONMENT. As children grow they tend to become MORE SOCIALLY AGGRESSIVE because of SOCIAL CONVENTIONS on PHYSICAL VIOLENCE + developing DIFFERENT WAYS to EXPRESS themselves
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
P.E.E paragraph- Generalisability weakness
Brendgen et al (2005) conducted a twin study of 6year old twins in terms of aggression, his aims was to see if aggression was caused by the genes or the environment and if social and physical aggression had the same cause. He used 32-67 twin pairs, both MZ and DZ twins demonstrating good sample size, however this is counteracted by the fact that his sample was narrow. Only studying a specific age group up to 6 years, all from Quebec. Therefore, his twin study can be criticised in terms of generalisability as the data he gathered isn’t representative of aggression in adults or older children, limiting the application of his findings.
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
P.E.E paragraph- Validity Strength
However, by using the twin study method, Brendgen came to the conclusion that there was a strong genetic component in physical aggression that was not found in social aggression- which is considered to have more environmental causes. The use of twin studies is a scientific method, suggesting the data gathered is highly valid and leads to reliable conclusions. It is supported by evidence from Ingram (2014) who also found similar results that social aggression manifests when older- demonstrating a wealth of valid data, increasing the accuracy of the conclusion.
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
P.E.E paragraph- Validity Weakness
On the other hand, validity can be questioned due to the allocation of the MZ and DZ groups. The twins were judged to be MZ or DZ twins by their physical appearance alone, with only 123 DNA tested to check this method was reliable and finding 94% accuracy, which was argued to be ‘reliable enough’. This can limit the validity of the data as it suggests that some twin pair may have not been correctly identified as MZ/DZ, producing inaccurate results.
A study of a 6year old twins=Brendgen et al (2005)
P.E.E paragraph- Application Strength and conclusion
Brendgen’s study suggest that social aggression is likely to be due to environmental factor, it concludes as young children develop more language and cognitive skill, they begin to express their aggression socially. The idea that nurture plays a role in social aggression can benefit society as it means that it might be possible to prevent or challenge social aggression in young children. To reverse social aggression, it could be unlearn through encouraging and rewarding sharing, punishing social aggression appropriately.
