Applied Analysis Scenario

The scenario occurs at the parking lot of a shopping mall. The main characters are a mother and her son, who have come to buy groceries. Other people on the scene are passersby – a woman with two boys. The boy is shouting to his mother, demanding a toy from a store he saw on the internet. His mother keeps on begging him to calm down and stay focused.

Primary Subject and Target Behavior

The boy is the primary person for whom behavior is analyzed. The target behavior regarding the boy’s actions is aggressiveness. He reveals aggressiveness by shouting, kicking tires, and throwing hands. The American Psychology Association defines aggression as hostile or instrumental behavior aimed at harming others physically or psychologically to achieve the desired outcome. Physical harm entails physically hurting others, like when the boy throws hands at his mother. Also, he reveals verbal aggression, which entails shouting, as seen when the boy asks, “what!?” Aggressiveness can be social; for instance, the boy escalates his physical and verbal aggressiveness when he sees the passersby to attract attention and embarrass his mother. The onset of this behavior is when he is requested to accompany his mother to the store. It escalates when he sees a toy store and deteriorates after seeing passersby. The offset is after his mother buys him a toy.

Analysis

Some of the stimuli that control the boy’s aggressiveness are his sister and dad’s mention, sighting a toy store, passersby, his mother insisting that they have to follow the day’s schedule, and requesting him to calm down. From the start, the boy wants things to be done his way. He is adamant about not wanting to visit his sister and dad. When his mother requests him to calm down, he becomes even more aggressive until he is promised and has gotten a toy. He also shouts more after seeing passersby. Throughout the scene, his mother is calm and keeps a safe distance to avoid being hurt. Hypothetically, aggressiveness is reinforced by environmental factors that make victims more vulnerable and offsets after the victim contends to the demands.

Behavioral Principles

There are three types of aggressiveness: physical, verbal, and indirect aggression, as revealed in the boy’s reaction (Hsieh & Chen, 2017). Boys more than girls tend to show aggressiveness (Lansford et al., 2012). Therefore, aggressiveness is affected by gender, among other factors, such as exposure to violent media (Hsieh & Chen, 2017). According to a theoretical model proposed by Finkel (2014), aggressiveness is commissioned by an instigating trigger, impelling forces, and inhibiting force. For instance, at first, the boy’s mother does not agree to buy a toy (instigating factor), which increases the likelihood of aggression (Hsieh & Chen, 2017). The boy seems to love a toy and does not want to see his sister and dad (impelling factors). However, his mother contends to buy a toy (an inhibiting factor).

Conclusion

Aggressiveness is hostile or instrumental behavior aimed at harming others physically or psychologically to achieve another goal, such as acquiring a desired resource. The boy in the video throws hands and shouts to get his mother to buy him a toy. It appears that aggressiveness is reinforced by environmental factors that make victims more vulnerable and offsets after the victim contends to the aggressive person’s demands. Also, it is commissioned by an instigating trigger, impelling forces, and inhibiting force.

References

Finkel EJ. (2014). The I3 Model: Metatheory, theory, and evidence. Advances in experimental social psychology. 49. In Olson J. M., & Zanna M. P. (Eds.) ed. San Diego: Academic Press.

Hsieh, I., & Chen, Y. (2017). Determinants of aggressive behavior: Interactive effects of emotional regulation and inhibitory control. PLOS ONE, 12(4), e0175651. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175651

Lansford, J., Skinner, A., Sorbring, E., Giunta, L., Deater-Deckard, K., & Dodge, K. et al. (2012). Boys’ and Girls’ Relational and Physical Aggression in Nine Countries. Aggressive Behavior, 38(4), 298-308. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21433