Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1985

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Abstract

This thesis explored relationships between aggression in elementary school children and two classes of social cognitions that might influence children's decisions about whether to behave aggressively. A first study compared aggressive and nonaggressive children's perceptions of their abilities to perform aggression and related behaviors (or their "perceptions of self-efficacy" for the.:se behaviors). Compared to nonaggressive children, aggressive subjects reported that it is easier to perform aggression and more difficult to inhibit aggression, but they did not differ in reported ease of performing prosocial behavior or engaging in verbal persuasion. A second study compared aggressive and nonaggressive children's beliefs about the reinforcing and punishing consequences of aggression (or their "response-outcome expectations"). Aggressive children were more confident that aggression would produce tangible rewards and reduce aversive treatment. It was suggested that cognitive models of aggression, such as that proposed by Dodge, may profit from inclusion of concepts from cognitive social learning theory.

Extent

82 p.

Comments

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1985.|Charles E. Schmidt College of Science|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1985.

Identifier

FADT14265

Format

pdf

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