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Behavior segmentation by boys as a function of aggressiveness and prior information
1Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
Child Development
|June 1, 1996
Summary
Aggressive boys show a hostile attribution bias, influencing how they process social information. This bias affects their interpretation of ambiguous events, particularly when no prior relationship context is given.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Aggressive boys exhibit a hostile attribution bias in ambiguous social situations.
- This bias involves interpreting others' intentions negatively.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if hostile attribution bias affects how aggressive boys process incoming social information.
- To examine the relationship between aggressiveness and information processing in children.
Main Methods:
- Assessed aggressiveness in boys (grades 3-6) using peer nominations.
- Children viewed a video of a playground game with a critical ambiguous event.
- Prior information about the boys' relationship (benign, hostile, neutral) was manipulated.
Main Results:
- Aggressiveness predicted changes in information segmentation after the critical event.
- This prediction was significant only in the neutral prior information condition.
- Findings suggest aggressiveness is linked to how incoming information is organized.
Conclusions:
- Hostile attribution bias in aggressive boys extends to information processing.
- The organization of incoming social information is influenced by aggressiveness, especially without contextual cues.