Experiment Assignment
Students will carefully observe acts of aggression and prosocial behavior on television, report their observations, and analyze their data to draw conclusions.
Watch 20 minutes of each of the three types of programs (do not code behavior in commercials). Record every aggressive act and prosocial act. Some categories will have several acts. Your chart and discussion will focus on comparing the following three types of programs you will watch: 1) children's cartoons (such as from the cartoon channel, Nick Jr); 2) children's Teaching program can be found on cable stations like SPROUT such as Barney, Arthur, Clifford the big red dog, Berenstain Bears, or Mister Rogers' Neighborhood; or Nick Jr programs (Dora the Explorer, Blues Clues); and 3) an adult program. Look for a program you think might have lots of aggression (NO Reality show, sports events, wrestling, comedy stand-up routines, music videos, talk shows). You can record/TIVO shows to watch at a later time; you can also find many of these shows online to watch when it is convenient for you!!
After watching your shows:
Answer the 5 questions below. This homework will be submitted on Canvas!
Don't forget to attach your original data chart to the written assignment!
1. List the 3 programs you observed and the date and the time. Indicate which program is the cartoon, children's teaching program and adult program.
2. Using the data on your chart, multiply the total number of aggressive acts by 3 for each type of program to arrive at an hourly rate of aggressive acts. Do the same for prosocial behavior. Make a table containing the hourly numbers for each program and include it along with the data chart or include it here for #2. You are including a table AND your data chart. You will lose points for including only 1.
3. Discuss the levels of aggression and of prosocial behavior for the three types of programs by comparing and contrasting what you observed. Were there differences in the levels and the type of program? What impact could that have on the target audience for that type of program? (at least 120 words; Include word count). Use specific numbers.
4. What did you learn from this project about aggression and prosocial behaviors.?How are these behaviors more often displayed? Do you believe the amount of aggression and/or prosocial behaviors you observed aremore or less than what is often displayed in everyday interactions? Does this have an impact on the model of behavior that has been displayed which could ultimately change behavioral expectations?(at least 120 words; Include word count).
5. What did you learn about doing research - the process of doing this project, e.g. collecting the data. Was the process of collecting date easier or harder than you hypothesized? What impact would bias have on this experiment? (at least 120 words; Include word count).
CHART
THIS CHART MUST BE TURNED IN WITH ASSIGNMENT
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Practice
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Program 1
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Program 2
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Program 3
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I. Physical Aggression
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A. Against people
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1. A hits B once, B hits A once
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2. A hits B several times or reverse
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3. A hurts B or the reverse
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4. A kills B or the reverse
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5. A hits several people
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6. A kills several people
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B. Against other living creatures
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1. Hurts
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2. Kills
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C. Against property
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D. Other
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II. Psychological Aggression
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A. Insults
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B. Abusive Language
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C. Threats
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D. Others
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III. Other Categories of aggression
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A. Kidnapping
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B. Torture
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C. Other
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Total numbers X (times) 3 Hourly rate of aggression
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X 3
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X 3
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X 3
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X 3
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IV. Prosocial aid to another
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A. Providing aid to another
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B. Control of aggressive impulses
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C. Making up for bad behavior
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D. Delay of gratification
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E. Explaining the feelings of others
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F. Sympathy
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G. Resistance of temptation
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Total numbers X (times) 3 Hourly rate of prosocial behavior
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X 3
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X 3
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X 3
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X 3
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Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.