E2a3 Madon (2004): self-fulfilling prophecy and drinking behavior

Question 1

Aim of Madon

s study

Answer 1

to see if parent’s expectation of their child’s drinking habits would become reality.

Question 2

Procedure of Madon’s study

Answer 2

1) questioned 115 children aged between 12 and 13 year olds and their parents
2) Parents asked to guess how much alcohol their child regularly drank or would drink over the coming year
3) a year later, the children were asked to say how much alcohol they actually consumed

Question 3

Results of Madon’s study

Answer 3

children that drank the most alcohol were the ones whose parents predicted greater use of alcohol. It only took one parent to have a negative opinion about their child’s drinking habits to increase their drinking levels. Children seemed at greater risk of higher alcohol levels if both parents held negative beliefs

Question 4

Conclusion of Madon’s study

Answer 4

a parent’s prediction of their child’s alcohol use was very accurate. The parent’s expectations were consistent with alcohol use after 12 months. It can be concluded this is a self-fulfilling prophecy that came true. The study may show that a parent’s beliefs can have a massive influence on a child’s behavior

Question 5

Stengths of Madon’s study

Answer 5

1) large sample of participants- results likely to be more valid or true
2) study gives strong warning to parents about holding negative beliefs about their children- could be true even if they were false beliefs in the first place

Question 6

Weaknesses of Madon’s study

Answer 6

1) parents may not have influenced their child’s behavior at all- they were just very accurate at judging child’s alcohol use, not self-fulfilling prophecy
2) many other children influence children- other explanations. e.g friends
3) correlation not causation- less control than experiments- cannot be sure of a true link between the variables.
4) questionnaire may have social desirability bias- children may say they drink more to look tough/ say they drink less in case their parents find out. Parents may predict they’ll drink more as they think it is honorable, or less as it is unacceptable
5) research is socially sensitive- can be viewed as parent-blaming- people need to be careful when interpreting findings and use it to advise parents