Abstract
From a cognitive point of view the way children process the social stimuli from their current environment plays a part in the generation of aggressive behaviour. Initially, studies of social cognition in children with aggressive behaviour were Piagetian in orientation. Some recent models, notably one by Dodge, are based on cognitive theories of information-processing. Studies based on these social information-processing models give a picture of an aggressive child who is not only developmentally retarded, as demonstrated in Piagetian studies, but is also deviant. More specifically, deficits as well as biases have been demonstrated in the child's encoding of social cues, in its interpretation of these cues, and in its generation, evaluation and selection of behavioural responses. These findings may bring about improvements in the cognitive-behavioural treatment of children with aggressive behaviour, the only child-focused therapy that has so far been shown to have any effect.
Résumé
D'un point de vue cognitif la façon dont les enfants traitent les stimuli sociaux provenant de leur environnement courant joue un rôle dans la genèse des comportements agressifs. Initialement, les études cognitivo-sociales d'enfants avec comportement agressif étaient d'orientation piagetienne. Des modèles récents, notamment celui de Dodge, s'appuient sur les théories cognitives de l'intégration de l'information. Les études fondées sur ces modèles donnent un tableau de l'enfant agressif qui n'est pas seulement en retard sur le plan développemental, comme l'ont montré les études piagetiennes, mais qui est aussi dévant. Plus spécifiquement, des déficits aussi bien que des déviances ont pu être démontrés dans le processus d'évaluation et la sélection des réponses comportementales. Ces faits peuvent apporter des améliorations dans le traitement cognitivo-comportemental des enfants agressifs, le seule thérapie centrée sur l'enfant pour laquelle un certain effet a pu être démontré.
Zusammenfassung
Aus einer kognitiven Sichtweise spielt die Art und Weise, wie Kinder die sozialen Reize ihrer gegenwärtigen Umgebung verarbeiten, eine Rolle bei der Erzeugung von aggressivem Verhalten. Ursprünglich waren Untersuchungen zur sozialen Kognition bei Kindern mit aggressivem Verhalten nach Piaget ausgerichtet. Einige neuere Modelle, besonders ein Modell von Dodge, beruhen auf kognitiven Theorien der Informationsverarbeitung. Studien, die auf diesen Modellen der sozialen Informationsverarbeitung basieren, ergeben das Bild eines aggressiven Kindes, das nicht nur entwicklungsretardiert, wie in Untersuchungen nach Piaget gezeigt, sondern auch fehlentwickelt ist. Genauer ausgedrückt, sind kindliche Defizite und Fehldeutungen bei der Interpretation von sozialen Reizen und bei der Generierung, Evaluierung und Selektion von Verhaltensreaktionen nachgewiesen worden. Diese Ergebnisse könnten zu einer Verbesserung der kognitiven Verhaltenstherapie von Kindern mit aggressivem Verhalten führen—der einzigen kindzentrierten Therapie, bei der bislang ein Effekt nachgewiesen wurde.
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Matthys, W., van Engeland, H. Social-cognitive research in children with aggressive behaviour: New perspectives. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 1, 178–185 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02091903
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02091903