Prior research addressing children's antisocial and prosocial behaviours have predominantly used a predetermined set of criteria which have been devised by adults. This psychological approach has lead to the perception of children as an individual phenomenon, using a dichotomy of behaviours consistently regardless of their immediate social environment. Therefore an argument is made for the use of an inductive, sociological approach in order to gain understanding of the everyday social interactions which children engage in. Conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis (Sacks, 1992a, 1992b) were employed to transcribe audio and video footage taken of thirteen, four-year-old children in their primary school playground in mid-Wales. The detailed and iterative analysis found that children employ specific resources to organise the social order of their playground. These resources include the use of name calling; access tools; possessive pronouns and collective proterms; reference to gender; physical gestures and the use of playground huts. The resources were used in the interaction of excluding or affiliating with peers, and also in the disaffiliation of peers where no further interaction was produced. These actions worked to produce different outcomes but were often used simultaneously in the co-construction of context. The wider findings which emanated from the detailed analysis identified the issues of sequences in children's establishment of social order; the context free and context sensitive nature of affiliation, disaffiliation and exclusion; issues of power; verbal actions supported by physical gestures; children's use of their environment; exclusive dyads; and children's social competence. The thesis holds implications for practice where practitioners can acknowledge the complex, multidimensional aspects of children's social organisation processes in order to avoid stereotyping. This study extends research which uses conversation and membership categorization analysis in the area of childhood studies which is important as this methodology affords unique access into children's worlds.

This study was concerned with the relations between representations of psychopathy and interpersonal perceptions. From 147 inmates seen in a federal medium security prison, 79 of the men provided complete data for comparisons. Groups were defined under criteria from (1) the Psychopathy Checklist (PC) (Hare, 1985b), or (2) American Psychiatric Association (1980, 1987) outlines for Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD). Measures were derived from the Interpersonal Adjective Scales-Revised (IAS-R) (Wiggins, Trapnell, and Phillips, 1988 ) which relate interpersonally defined perceptions of personality as locations within a circumplex space--Interpersonal Circle (Wiggins, 1979, 1980). Self-ratings were obtained as descriptive of (1) self, (2) ideal self, (3) self as thought seen by a friends, and (4) self as thought seen by a specific member of the institutional staff. A rating was also obtained from the specific staff members as descriptive of the particular inmates. Comparisons were also made with respect to the specificity and sensitivity of MMPI profiles considered relevant to psychopathy. Supplementary comparisons used selected scales from the Adjective Checklist (ACL) (Gough and Heilbrun, 1980) and Rosenberg's (1965) Self- esteem Scale. These comparisons provided manipulation checks of the consistency of the data and contributed to the interpretive generalizability of the results. The primary hypotheses were that a group of individuals defined as psychopathic would show differences in representations obtained from self-rated and other-rated descriptions, with respect to circumplex location and derived difference scores from the IAS-R, in comparison to groups considered non-psychopathic. Results indicated differential perceptions, particularly by staff members, which provided good discriminations of groups based on the PC but not for groups defined by APD. Circumplex locations of psychopaths defined by the PC were consistent with expectations for the Interpersonal Circle. The discriminative utility of group differences was much higher for the PC-defined groups than for APD relative to the base rates for these different categorizations. The results are discussed in terms of (1) their contribution to the nomological network for the concept of psychopathy as represented by the PC, (2) specific limitations of the study, and (3) the evident confusion which can result from the use of measures assumed to to relate to the 'psychopath,' but that rely on primarily behavioural descriptions. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

This study was designed to examine the hypothesis that criminal psychopaths differ from criminal nonpsychopaths in their ability to over-focus attention on certain kinds of stimuli. For the purposes of this study, the concept of over-focussing was operationalized to mean the ability to process stimuli more quickly or efficiently by making use of one or more attentional mechanisms for selecting among locations or stimuli. A second aim of the study was to identify the component processes contributing to this more efficient selection. Five experiments were run to assess several different components of attention contributing to selection of stimuli in a variety of paradigms. Experiments 1 and 2 assessed covert orienting of attention across the visual field using both peripherally presented physical cues and centrally presented symbolic cues to prime locations in visual space. Three dissociable components of attention were assessed in this paradigm. Experiments 3-5 were designed to assess the efficiency of processing a target item in the presence of a distractor item. Four additional dissociable components of selective attention were measured in these three studies. The results supported the hypothesis that psychopaths can over-focus attention, but the groups were differentiated by only one of the component processes measured. In Experiments 1 and 2 endogenous orienting of attention was greater for psychopaths than for nonpsychopaths. In these paradigms endogenous facilitation controlled the allocation of attention to cued locations, and the subsequent speeding of reaction time to targets presented at those locations, when the cue was symbolic or predictive, but not when it involved a physical change of energy at the cued location. This strategic allocation of attention probably resulted from the predictive validity (approximately 68% valid) of the cue in relation to the target. Other component processes failed to differentiate the groups. These included measures of exogenous orienting and inhibition of return in experiments 1 and 2, and measures of interference due to a distracting stimulus, habituation of interference, attenuation of interference due to spatial displacement of the distractor, and negative priming in experiments 3-5. The difference in covert orienting was replicated in experiments 1 and 2 in two groups of criminals who also failed to demonstrate any abnormalities in a variety of other processes involved in attention. It was concluded that psychopaths differ from nonpsychopaths specifically in their strategic allocation of attention in situations of moderate uncertainty, but show no other abnormalities in the component processes that control attention. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Both researchers and clinicians, especially those working in criminal populations, have long suggested that psychopathy (or antisocial personality disorder) and schizophrenia are associated on an etiological or on some other level (e.g., Eysenck and Eysenck, 1976, 1978). Others (Hare, 1984; Hare and Harpur, 1986; Raine, 1985) argue that psychopathy is not associated (or even negatively associated) with other psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. To evaluate these competing positions concerning the psychopathy-schizophrenia association, 80 male prisoners remanded to a forensic psychiatric institute for assessment of their fitness to stand trial were diagnosed using both the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL; Hare, 1980, 1985a) and DSM-III Axis I and II criteria. In addition, clinical global ratings and self-report inventories were used to measure the strength of psychopathy- and schizophrenia-related traits. The results indicated that: a) although diagnoses of psychopathy (according to PCL criteria) did not have perfect specificity with respect to schizophrenia-related clinical diagnoses, the overlap was small, and the PCL scales were either not associated or negatively associated with these disorders; b) diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder (APD, according to DSM-III criteria) were generally not associated with schizophrenia-related disorders, but had lower clinical specificity than did the PCL criteria with respect to both schizophrenia-related and other psychiatric disorders; c) there was no association between psychopathy- and schizophrenia-related clinical ratings; d) psychopathy and APD diagnoses and clinical ratings were not related to scores on other standard rating scales of the severity of psychiatric symptomatology; and e) there was no difference between schizophrenic and non-schizophrenic subjects in the strength of psychopathy-related traits, and no difference between psychopaths and nonpsychopaths (or APD versus non-APD subjects) in the strength of schizophrenia-related traits. As well, self-report measures related to psychopathy and schizophrenia did not correlate with each other, or with clinical ratings of the two disorders. The results are interpreted as supporting the view that psychopathy is not positively associated with schizophrenia or with psychiatric disorder in general. The practical utility of various techniques for assessing psychopathy in forensic psychiatric populations is also discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

Bibliography: pages 211-235. / This study looks at the role of statutory social work practice within the framework of current South African legislation. The implications of this legislation for persons exhibiting antisocial behaviour were examined in the light of institutional and community-based management options. An overview of the literature is presented in order to place the concepts of institutional care, community-based options and legal reform in perspective. These literature studies provided the framework for an exploratory survey of 70 purposely sampled statutory social work clients, with a view to re-examining institutionalization as a possible contributing factor in their antisocial behaviour. Using a structured interview schedule, the Researcher elicited information concerning the respondents' histories of institutionalization, their evaluations of its effects and other possible factors contributing to their antisocial behaviour. The outcome of the study confirmed the major research question, namely that institutionalization could be regarded as a contributing factor in antisocial behaviour. Conversely, the findings reflected major literature surveys which stated that institutionalization has an adaptive potential for certain client systems. Results flowing from both negative and positive factors are mediated by the characteristics of the institution; by those who are institutionalized, and by other factors which precede, coexist with or follow institutionalization. The study supports the preferential use of community-based alternatives in statutory social work as well as providing guidelines for institutional reform and future research.

No description available.

Psicóloga / Autor no autoriza el acceso a texto completo de su documento / La mayoría de los menores con trastorno disocial se van implicando cada vez menos en los intercambios agresivos, sin embargo, una minoría continúa manifestando conductas antisociales. Esta minoría constituye una población de riesgo a padecer un trastorno antisocial de personalidad. Marco teórico. Desde la teoría del aprendizaje social y del modelo de coerción de Patterson, el comportamiento antisocial se desarrolla y consolida por medio del aprendizaje observacional, principalmente del estilo educativo parental y las relaciones entre pares. Objetivo. Encontrar evidencia científica que demuestre que el trastorno disocial constituye un factor precursor del trastorno antisocial de la personalidad en la adultez. Método. Revisión bibliográfica a partir de artículos científicos empíricos y longitudinales, publicados, en los últimos 10 años, por revistas indexadas en bases de datos reconocidas dentro del ámbito de la Psicología. Resultados. A nivel intergeneracional, los hijos de padres antisociales tienen una cifra mayor de conductas antisociales. A nivel intrageneracional, el trastorno disocial tiene un poderoso efecto a largo plazo, el cual continúa en la adultez. Asimismo, se han detectado factores de riesgo como el maltrato infantil o las pautas educativas inadecuadas. Conclusiones. Diversas investigaciones ponen de manifiesto la existencia de cierta continuidad evolutiva, aún así sólo reflejan tendencias. No se puede afirmar que exista una relación causal entre ambos trastornos, ya que esta evolución es el resultado de una interacción compleja de diversos factores genéticos, ambientales y psicológicos

A travers cette thèse, nous étudions l'envie et explorons l'impact de cette dernière sur le bien-être et le comportement individuel. Cette thèse se compose de quatre chapitres. Dans un premier chapitre, nous définissons l'envie en nous référant à des travaux réalisés en philosophie et en psychologie. Nous concluons que l'envie est une émotion déclenchée par la prise de conscience d'un attribut désiré, possédé par autrui et qui se caractérise par une douloureuse tristesse incluant des sentiments d'hostilité. Ensuite nous élaborons un protocole expérimental dont l'objectif est d'étudier l'impact de l'envie sur le bien-être et sur le comportement individuel. Nous capturons l'envie à travers des méthodes d'évaluation subjective et nous examinons si l'envie incite les sujets à réduire la dotation de leur partenaire malgré le coût personnel induit par la réduction. Nous observons que l'envie est fortement présente mais n'explique pas pourquoi les sujets réduisent la dotation des autres. Les inégalités de dotations mesurées en termes relatifs modulent les décisions des sujets à réduire la dotation d'autrui. Dans le chapitre trois, nous nous intéressons à l'impact de l'effort sur l'envie. Pour cela nous élaborons deux traitements. Dans un traitement, les sujets reçoivent des dotations de manière aléatoire alors que dans l'autre traitement les dotations sont attribuées en fonction de la performance de chaque sujet lors d'une tache effectuée avant l'expérience. Nous trouvons que l'effort n'affecte pas la satisfaction des sujets mais partiellement leur comportement : les sujets ne sont pas plus nombreux a réduire les gains des autres mais ils en réduisent une plus grande partie. Enfin, nous nous intéressons à un type de sujets particulier dans lequel l'envie est susceptible d'être ressentie fortement : les sportifs. Nous concluons que la pratique d'activités sportives pousse les agents à ressentir de l'envie et les incite à entreprendre des actions de réduction. / Throughout this dissertation we aim at identifying envy and investigating its impacts on both individual well-being and behaviour. This dissertation consists of four chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the definition of envy by referring to both researches on philosophy and psychology. We convey that envy can be defined as an emotion triggered by the awareness of a desired attribute enjoyed by another person characterised by a painful sadness including feelings of hostility. In the second chapter, we implement an experiment so as to investigate the impact of envy on individual well-being and behaviour. We capture envy through referring to self-report methods and explore whether envy pushes subjects to reduce their opponent's endowment at a personal cost. We observe that envy is highly present but does not explain why subjects reduce others' income. Inequalities between subjects' endowments measured in relative terms modulate subjects' decisions to reduce others' income. In chapter three, we study how effort affects envy and whether the impact of envy on both individual well-being and behaviour is amplified or weakened by effort. To fulfil our purpose, we implement two different conditions. In one condition endowments are randomly attributed to subjects and in the other condition endowments are allocated according to each subject's performance in a task. We observe that effort does not affect subjects' satisfaction and partially their behaviour : subjects do not reduce more often their opponent's endowment but they cut a higher portion of their opponent's endowment when endowments are attributed according to individual effort. In the final chapter, we focus on a specific category of subjects in which envy is ought to be experienced intensively : subjects practicing sport activities. We observe that sport practice pushes subjects to experience envy and exerts them to engage in reduction decisions.

The aim of this work was to analyze the influence of neighbors and parents on children’s antisocial behavior. The participants were 96 homeless children and 96 students. The instruments applied were the Scale of Antisocial Behavior (Castell, Frías, Corral & Sotomayor, 2000) and the Scales of Addictive Behavior (Reich & Herjanic, 1989; Vazsonyi, Pickering, Junger & Hessing, 2001). First univariate statistics were obtained, after a model was tested using structural equations modeling. The data showed that children’s antisocial and addictive behavior was affected by father’s antisocial behavior, mother’s addictive behavior and neighborhood. For homeless children their antisocial behavior was influenced directly by their addictive behavior and father’s antisocial behavior. For students, neighborhood, father’s antisocial behavior and children’s addictive behavior influenced on children’s antisocial behavior. In both groups the neighborhood and mother’s addictive behavior influenced directly children’s addictive behavior. / Se analizó la influencia del vecindario y la familia en el comportamiento antisocial de menores. Los participantes fueron 192 menores, 96 con antecedentes de indigencia y 96 escolares no indigentes. Se administraron la Escala de Comportamiento Antisocial (Castell,Frías, Corral & Sotomayor, 2000) y las Escalas de Comportamiento Adictivo (Reich & Herjanic, 1989; Vazsonyi, Pickering, Junger & Hessing, 2001). Se calcularon frecuencias de medias, desviaciones estándar y modelamiento estructural. Los resultados mostraron que la conducta antisocial y adictiva estaba influenciada por el comportamiento antisocial del padre, el comportamiento adictivo de la madre y el vecindario. Para los menores indigentes, el comportamiento antisocial estaba directamente influido por su comportamiento adictivo y el comportamiento antisocial del padre. Para el grupo de estudiantes el comportamiento antisocial estaba influido por el vecindario, por su comportamiento adictivo y por el comportamiento antisocial del padre. Para ambos grupos el vecindario y el comportamiento adictivo de la madre influyeron directamente en el comportamiento adictivo de los mismos.

The existence of several causes of antisocial behavior during adolescence seems to respond, not only to the combination of many risk factors within different levels of human development, but also to cultural and historical processes affecting, in many ways, several generations since their early childhood. This paper revises the main explicative theories about antisocial behavior during adolescence and highlights the theory of the Neuropsychological Taxonomy of the Antisocial Behavior proposed by Terrie E. Moffitt (1993, 1994, 1996, 2003). Moreover, some studies are mentioned due to the fact that they confirm the cross-cultural validity of Moffitt’s theorical model and its  contributions to the design of prevention programs against delinquency for youngsters and adolescents in our context. / La multicausalidad del comportamiento antisocial durante la adolescencia parece no sólo obedecer a la combinación de múltiples factores de riesgo ubicados en diferentes niveles del desarrollo humano, sino también a procesos históricos y culturales que afectan de manera diferenciada a varias generaciones de jóvenes desde su temprana infancia. Este artículo revisa las principales teorías explicativas del  comportamiento antisocial durante la adolescencia, enfatizando en la teoría neuropsicológica de la Taxonomía del Desarrollo de la Conducta Antisocial propuesta por Terrie E. Moffitt (1993, 1994, 1996, 2003). Asimismo, se mencionan algunos estudios realizados que confirman la validez transcultural del modelo teórico de Moffitt y sus contribuciones para el diseño de programas de prevención del delito entre población adolescente y juvenil en nuestro medio.