Chapter 12 Notes- Handling Childrens Aggressive Behaviour:

Aggression: is antisocial behavior that damages or destroys property or that results

in physical or emotional injury to a person or animal.
Four types of Aggression:
Accidental Aggression: When children hurt others without thinking during the
process of play. An example would be stepping on a childs fingers, as there is no
harmful intent to injure.
Expressive Aggression: Is when a child derives enjoyment from a physical action
that unintentionally hurts others or interferes with their rights. The aggressors goal
is not to get a reaction from the victim or to destroy something; instead he or she is
preoccupied with the enjoyable physical sensation of the experience.
Instrumental Aggression: When children are so intent on getting what they want or
defending something that their physical actions inadvertently result in someone
getting hurt. This often is seen when two children are fighting over the same toy
and one or both of the children end up getting hurt. Neither child sought out to hurt
the other, but both were just defending what they wanted.
Hostile Aggression: When children want to inflict pain on others. They use hurtful
words or actions towards another individual. Outcome is that someone gets hurt or
property is damaged.

Hostile aggression is expressed in two different ways:

o Overt aggression: This is to harm others through physical injury
or the threat of an injury.
o Relational aggression: damage to anothers personal status or
self esteem; ie. through gossip.

Assertiveness: is a socially acceptable alternative to aggression, when children

express themselves or protect their rights while respecting the rights and feelings of
others.
Factors which contribute to children being aggressive:

Biology: Scientists believe that human beings are biologically

programmed to be aggressive, particularly when safety or other basic
needs are threatened. The presence of high levels of androgen and
testosterone have been linked to aggressive behavior.
The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis: It is believed that a frustrated
child is more likely to be aggressive than one who is contented.
The Distorted-Perception Hypothesis: When children see hostile intent
where none exists.

Direct Instruction: When adults or older peers instruct children to use

aggression to resolve a problem situation or obtain their approval.
Reinforcement: If aggressive behavior continues to be rewarded,
children who demonstrate aggressive behavior develop feelings of
power that further reinforce their negative actions.
Modeling: Children often act aggressively when they learn how to act
by watching others.
Lack of knowledge and skills: Children sometimes resort to aggression
because they dont know what else to do when their goals are blocked
or when they come under attack by another child.

Changes in Aggression over Time:

Younger children often resort to physical force to get their way. Older children
rely more on verbal tactics.
Younger children most often engage in instrumental aggression. Hostile
aggression becomes more common in later childhood.

Male/ Female Differences in Aggression:

Biology: males greater concentrations of testosterone, physical strength, and

more vigorous motor impulses may contribute to higher levels of physical
aggression.
Social Learning: physical aggression is more approved and reinforced for boys
than girls. Alternatively, it is more socially acceptable for girls to manipulate
and sabotage an adversarys self-esteem or status
Both males and females who display high levels of aggression tend to be
rejected by their peers.

Ineffective Strategies Adults use to reduce Childrens Aggressive Behaviour:

1. Physical Punishment: Their responses to childrens misbehavior, including
those instances when youngsters exhibit aggression, is to resort to
aggression themselves through strong physical punishment. Studies show
however, that routine use of physical punishment promotes rather than
lessens childhood aggression.
o Corporal punishment in the United States:
Refers to the intentional application of physical pain as a method
for changing behaviour.
Still practiced in some child care programs, elementary, middle
and high schools.
Spanking is often conducted in the environment with parental
permission.
2. Ignoring Aggression: Adults ignore childrens aggressive acts in the hope that
those behaviours eventually will go away. This is a mistake as research shows
that when aggression is ignored it often increases.

3. Displacement: Then children are encouraged when frustrated to leave the

situation and take their anger out on a pillow or something else as a way to
express their frustration.
4. Inconsistency: Adults who are all over the place in their approach promote
increased aggression.
Effective Strategies Adults use to reduce Childrens Aggressive Behaviour:
1. Modeling: There are two ways adults can influence what behaviours
children imitate:
a. Modeling non-aggression through their own behaviour.
b. Adults should treat children calmly and rationally regardless of the
situation
2. Reinforcement: Children are more likely to repeat nonaggressive
strategies for making their desires known when those strategies are
rewarded.
3. Direct Instruction:
a. Reducing the frustration in childrens lives; their appropriate
structuring of the physical environment is a excellent way to reduce
potential frustration.
b. Helping children feel more competent: Children who feel they have
some control over their lives are less likely to resort to aggression
as a way to establish power.
c. Fostering empathy among children: Children can be taught to
recognize peoples emotions, to imagine how victims feel, and to
identify the negative consequences of their aggressive actions.
d. Teaching children prosocial behaviour: Kindness, helpfulness, and
cooperation are incompatible with aggression.
e. Making it clear that aggression is unacceptable: When physical or
verbal aggression occurs, adults must intervene before children
experience the satisfaction of getting what they want through
negative means.
f. Helping children recognize instance of accidental aggression:
Providing accurate informational changes the childs view of the
purposefulness of the act and reduces the necessity for retaliation.
g. Rechanneling childrens expressive aggression: When carried out
safely, kicking, pounding, throwing, and knocking down are
appropriate physical activities for children. Children need to derive
satisfaction from mastering the environment and their bodies by
kicking and throwing a call as hard as they can.
h. Helping children de-escalate potentially aggressive play: Adults can
head off the development of purposeful aggression by keeping an
eye on children as they play and by watching for early signs of
difficultly.
i. Teaching children alternatives to gun play: Adults need to explain
to children that guns are serious business and are not treated as

toys. Children should also be redirected into less violent play

themes or into discussion of alternative means for resolving their
make believe differences.
j. Teaching children to generate potential responses to the aggression
of others: Adults should take childrens complaints of aggression
seriously and intervene directly or model appropriate ways of
handling problem situations.
k. Teaching alternatives to aggression through planned activities:
Children who can envision a wide range of possibilities are less apt
to resort to violence.
l. Teaching alternatives to aggression through conflict mediation: This
involves waling children through a series of steps beginning with
problem identification and ending with a mutually satisfactory
solution.
Model for Conflict Mediation:
1. Initiating the Mediation Process: The first step is to assume the role of the
mediator and by stopping the behaviour, separating the combatants, and
defining the problem accomplishes this.
2. Clarifying Each Childs Perspective: Clarifying the conflict based on the
childrens perspective is the focus of step two. Ask each child in turn to state
what he or she wants from the situation.
3. Summing up: When you have enough information to understand each childs
perception of the conflict. Define the problem in mutual terms, implying that
each child is responsible for both the problem and its solution.
4. Generating Alternatives: Generating several possible alternative solutions
takes place in the fourth stage of mediation. Suggestions may be offered by
children themselves or volunteered by bystanders.
5. Agreeing on a Solution: Children will reject certain suggestions outright and
will indicate that others seem more acceptable. This step is about children
agreeing on a plan of action that is mutually satisfying.
6. Reinforcing the Problem Solving Process: The message to be conveyed is that
the process of reaching the solution is as important as the solution itself.
Acknowledge the emotional investment each child had in the original conflict
and the hard work involved in reaching an agreement.
7. Following Through: This is accomplished by reminding the children what the
terms were and, if necessary, physically assisting or demonstrating how to
comply.
When Aggression becomes hostile:
Bullying: When an incident goes beyond the simple altercations common among
children; they represent prolonged misuse of influence by one person or group of
persons over another. It is estimated that over 80% of children experience
bullying during early or middle childhood.

Victims of Bullying:
Passive Victims: Victims of bullying who do nothing to instigate the bullying.
Passive victims seldom initiate the hostile attack and rarely assert their rights
when it happens.
Provocative Victims: Victims of bullying who prompt aggressive reactions from
others by crying easily; by becoming defensive or angry when it is not
appropriate; or by misinterpreting joking or teasing as verbal aggression when
that is not the intent.
Working with Victims: Children are less likely to be victimized if they possess
verbal assertiveness skills with which to establish their desires and protect their
rights. All children need support in developing these skills, but this is especially
true for children who lack general language proficiency and social skills.

Dealing with bullies: Bullies cannot simply beshunned or ignored by adults in

formal group settings. Such tactics push them beyond the bounds of normal
circle groups, reinforcing their defiant style. Strategies such as self-talk,
identification of emotions, figuring out behavioral cues that tell how others are
feeling, and logical consequences.
Working with other children in the program: Any child may witness bullying at
any time, so every child needs to know there are protections in place so they will
not be victimized themselves or felt feeling helpless in the face of hostile
aggression.
Bullying is likely to occur when:

Children are frequently left unsupervised

Behaviour expectations are unclear and inconsistent
Adults rely on autocratic or permissive discipline strategies
Adults ignore bullying behaviour
No preventative measures are taken to address bullying
Children and adults lack the knowledge and skills to be bully-free
There is poor communication between the home and the formal group
setting

Dealing with Aggression in Formal Group Settings-General Strategies

1. Model nonaggressive behaviour
2. Eliminate aggressive materials from your setting
3. Structure the classroom environment to minimize potential frustration among
children
4. Remain alert to children for whom frustration is building

5. Provide children with opportunities to feel competent

6. Reinforce childrens behaviours that are incompatible with aggression
7. Re-channel group play in which children are pretending to shoot one another
with guns.
8. Help children learn assertive language
9. Set consistent limits on childrens aggressive behaviour
10.Attend to victims of aggression
11.Praise children when they attempt non-aggressive solutions to difficult
situations.
12.Explore alternatives to corporal punishment if it is practiced in your setting.
Handling Accidental, Expressive, and Instrumental Aggression:
1. Intervene when accidental aggression occurs
2. Use substitution to respond to childrens expressive aggression
3. Give children practice sharing, taking turns, trading, bargaining, and
negotiating to get what they want.
4. Mediate Childrens Conflicts

Responding to Hostile Aggression:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Talk about bullying

Make Specific rules about bullying and follow through on them.
Help children distinguish between tattling and telling about bullying
Help children explore ways to avoid becoming victims of bullying and what to
do if they become victimized
5. Help children develop a repertoire of strategies for what to do if they witness
bullying
6. Coach children who engage in bullying in how to control their angry impulses
7. Help bullies and victims learn to more accurately interpret social cues.
Communicating with Families:
1. Communicate to family members how you intend to deal with aggression in
your setting
2. Listen thoughtfully if family members report that other children are bullying
their child.
3. Talk with families of children who engage in bullying behaviour
4. Support children who may witness or experience violence in their families
Major pitfalls to avoid when handling childrens aggressive behaviour:

Falling to lay the groundwork

Ignoring developmental considerations
Skipping medication altogether

Denying childrens legitimate claims

Laying blame
Taking sides
Denying a childs perspective
Masterminding