Fatores de Aprendizagem Social, Comportamento Agressivo e Comportamento Lúdico de Meninos Pré-Escolares

Abstract

Aggressiveness is typical characteristic of animal behavior. For humans, aggressiveness is influenced both by biological and by sociocultural factors, and can result in serious problems for both aggressors and victims of aggression. Knowledge about the evolutionary and ontogenetic factors that influence human aggressiveness is therefore extremely relevant not only to the theoretical considerations, but also to possible measures to prevent it. In this dissertation, we present an empirical investigation about the relationship among social variables (punishment, aggressive models presented on television and by parents, toy gun playing) and the aggressive and ludic behavior of pre-school children. Our subjects were 15 boys between four and six years of age that were enrolled in a childcare unit in the city of Goiânia, Brazil. Demographic data and information on the frequency with which subjects were exposed to aggressive models at home were obtained through structured interviews. Behavioral data were collected during 12 periods with 60 minutes of naturalistic observation. In each period, subjects remained in a 60m2 room with no toys, and with minimum interference by adults (free activity). The percentage of time spent by each subject in ludic activities (rough and tumble and mild play) was calculated from the percentage of instantaneous scans at 3 minutes intervals (20 records each session). Data on aggressive behavior (real and simulated) were gathered thru behavioral samplings (all occurrences). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA- GLM procedure in SPSS v. 13.0) indicated a significant relationship between play behavior and the presence of aggressive models at home, particularly the presence of toy guns (F=9,93; gl=1; p=0,01) and aggressive interaction by parents (F=8,56 ; gl=1; p=0,02): boys that reported these models at home participated more in rough and tumble play than other subjects. Children exposed to abusive physical punishment (U=6,0; p=0,03), and adult fighting at home (U=7,5; p=0,02) and to violent TV programs (U=8,0; p=0,02) were emitted more real aggression. Boys that reported toy guns at home were not registered in aggressive behavior more often than those who did not, but displayed a higher proportion of pretend aggression (U= 8,0; p=0,02). The more aggressive models at home, the higher the incidence of aggressive behavior during observation periods (Rho=0,603; p=0,02). No two-way interactions between factors (aggressive models) were found in the multivariate analysis. Despite these significant results, the proportions of rough and tumble play and of real aggression gradually decreased through the 12 periods of observation. The great majority of our 15 subjects engaged less in rough and tumble play and displayed less real aggression during the last 6 periods of observation than during the first ones (within subjects: t=4,26; gl=14; p=0,001). Overall, our results indicate a cumulative effect of aggressive models in ludic and aggressive behavior, although this effect may change with the increasing familiarity of subjects with the lack of interference by adults.