CFS138 s.6 (Exam 3)

Morality, Aggression, & Antisocial Behavior

Morality

• A system of beliefs about right & wrong that guides behavior

Components of Morality

• Moral reasoning (thinking)

• Moral emotions (feeling)

• Moral behavior (doing)

Moral Reasoning in Infants

• Even infants show early understanding of fairness, helping, & harm

Fairness Expectations

• Infants expect equal distribution of resources by the end of the first year

Premack & Premack Study

• Showed infants expect agents to act fairly & to help rather than harm

Conscience

• Internal sense of right & wrong that includes rule understanding & emotional discomfort after wrongdoing

Prosocial Behavior

• Voluntary behavior intended to benefit others (helping, sharing, comforting)

Warneken & Tomasello (2006)

• Toddlers help adults without being asked, showing early natural prosocial behavior

Kohlberg’s Theory of Morality

• Moral development unfolds in stages based on how children reason about moral problems

Preconventional Level

• Morality based on punishment & reward (typical of young children)

Stage 1 (Punishment Orientation)

• “What avoids punishment is right”

Stage 2 (Instrumental Orientation)

• “What benefits me is right”

Conventional Level

• Morality based on social rules & approval

Stage 3 (Good Boy/Girl)

• Behavior is moral if it pleases others

Stage 4 (Law & Order)

• Obedience to authority & rules is moral

Postconventional Level

• Morality based on abstract ethical principles

Stage 5 (Social Contract)

• Laws are flexible & should protect human rights

Stage 6 (Universal Ethics)

• Moral decisions based on justice & equality

Heinz Dilemma

• A man must decide whether to steal a drug to save his wife’s life

  • Used to assess moral reasoning

Kohlberg Criticisms

• Gender Bias - Emphasizes justice reasoning & undervalues care-based reasoning (Gilligan)

• Cultural Bias - Theory favors Western values of individual rights

Antisocial Behavior

• Pattern of behavior that violates social norms & the rights of others

Normal Aggression

• Peaks in toddlerhood & declines with development

Early-Onset Aggression

• Begins in childhood & is most predictive of later antisocial behavior

Social Information Processing (Dodge)

• Children move through steps to interpret & respond to social situations

SIP Steps

1. Encode social cues

2. Interpret social cues

3. Clarify goals

4. Generate possible responses

5. Choose a response

6. Enact the behavior

SIP Deficit – Reactive Aggression

• Impulsive, emotional response to perceived threat

  • Caused by hostile attribution bias at interpretation step

SIP Deficit – Proactive Aggression

• Deliberate, planned aggression used to achieve a goal

  • Caused by goal-oriented planning & reward focus

Hostile Attribution Bias

• Misinterpreting ambiguous actions as intentionally hostile

Puzzle Study

• Aggressive children assume harm is intentional when it is ambiguous

Origins of Antisocial Behavior

• Biology (genes)

• Harsh parenting

• Peers

• Violent media

Family Influence on Antisocial Behavior

• Harsh discipline

• Lack of supervision

• Low warmth increase risk

Peer Influence on Antisocial Behavior

• Deviant peer groups reinforce aggressive behavior

Media Influence on Aggression

• Repeated exposure to violent TV increases aggressive scripts

Huesmann Longitudinal TV Study

• Childhood TV violence predicted adult aggression 15 years later

Low SES & Aggression

• Higher stress

• Fewer resources

• Exposure to violence increase antisocial risk

Key Takeaway

• Aggression develops through a combination of biology, social learning, and cognitive interpretation