Introduction
Studying the prerequisites for the peculiarities of human behavior is an important activity in social psychology that focuses on the implications of various disorders caused by specific circumstances. One of the problems that deserve detailed analysis is aggression as a quality manifested in the context of individual situations and manipulating consciousness. The assessment of the prerequisites of this phenomenon may allow finding specific factors affecting the development of this uncontrolled disorder and identifying the most significant drivers.
This research proposal aims to offer the evaluation of the preconditions of human aggression, in particular, its early stages of generation, in the context of social psychology. The research question used as a background for the work is as follows: do early social features of communication influence the formation of human aggression? The hypothesis is that children adopt adults’ deviant behavioral patterns, which entails changes in their worldview and serves as a prerequisite for the issue under consideration. Uncontrolled human aggression is a phenomenon that is complex in nature, and its assessment is an important aspect of helping people with this disorder.
Literature Review
Existing studies on the prerequisites for human aggression affect various aspects of this problem. For instance, Hay (2017) considers the manifestations of the issue in early childhood and analyzes those factors that may be considered signs of a potential disorder. The author argues that many children are prone to manifesting physical strength in relation to adults and peers, but in the study, only 4% of the participants demonstrate such behavior intentionally (Hay, 2017, p. 103). This work is observational, and no special data interpretation techniques are used.
To assess the premise of human aggression in adolescence, the study by Meter, Ehrenreich, and Underwood (2019) may be applied. This work provides valuable information on the possible relationships between the deviant behavior of parents and teenagers who adopt this behavior and copy certain patterns. According to the authors, if an adult demonstrates aggression, this is a role model for his or her child (Meter et al., 2019). In this study, a mixed research type is used because both questionnaires for participants are offered and qualitative assessment methods are utilized.
The current study is not a duplicate of the previous ones since an experimental approach is planned to be used. Since a qualitative research method will be applied, some similar principles of work will be utilized. However, the key goal is to consider the early prerequisites of human aggression not on the basis of correlations but by obtaining information from primary sources to prove the initial hypothesis.
Methods
Design
The proposed study is qualitative because, as a key method of data collection and interpretation, the information from the participants will be analyzed based on the results of the questionnaires offered. According to Newman (2016), this technique provides comprehensive data and the understanding of relevant contexts through in-depth analysis. As a research design, an experimental approach will be utilized, which, as Newman (2016) states, gives an opportunity to explain specific phenomena and, in particular, behavioral features through making causal relationships. This technique is convenient and helps answer the stated research question.
An experimental method is an approach that is deeper than the correlation type since not only the interaction between individual variables is compared but also the reasons for the corresponding relationships. Liu and Maxwell (2019) use a similar strategy in their work and note that utilizing an experimental technique helps evaluate the manifestations of the declared phenomena both before and after a specific intervention.
In addition, the authors compare this method with other possible practices and note that this approach is objective when the stated hypothesis involves searching for causal relationships with proper evidence (Liu & Maxwell, 2019). In the current study, such a strategy allows obtaining credible information and explaining exactly how human aggression develops based on the assessment of the early prerequisites for its formation.
Participants
In order to conduct credible qualitative research, it is essential to choose an optimal sampling strategy and involve the necessary number of participants. Since the proposed topic implies evaluating a specific psychological disorder, members with proven diagnoses should be engaged, and this selective principle is the only one suitable. In the study by Meter et al. (2019), 174 participants are involved, but they are all adolescents. In the current research, adults should be engaged to analyze their cultural background and draw conclusions regarding the influence of certain social factors on the formation of aggressive behavioral patterns.
The evaluation of all the results will take place after receiving the necessary information from the participants. Therefore, there is no need to limit the number of potential target group members. It is estimated that 100 people will be recruited in accordance with approximate equality between the genders and races. This is an ethical measure that allows obtaining unbiased outcomes of the analysis and compiling a general picture of the problem based on comprehensive data.
Despite the fact that, as Newman (2016) argues, the predominant number of qualitative studies suggests a random sampling type, in the current work, the selective principle is due to a specific problem that is considered. Participation will be based on the personal clinical data of the target group members, and individual factors of social development will be taken into account.
Procedure/Measures
For the considered research, questionnaires are a key procedure for obtaining the necessary data. According to Trott and Reeves (2018), this strategy is used for studies in which the sample size is large and implies analyzing of a significant amount of qualitative information. In this case, 100 participants will be interviewed, which requires much time both to collect and process all the data. The questionnaires will be compiled on the basis of the key research topic, and as the subjects involved, the participants’ social background will be clarified. The greatest emphasis will be on the members’ child and teenage stages of life and their interaction with family members in order to obtain a comprehensive picture and answer the set research question.
The participants can answer the proposed questions simultaneously, and a corresponding room should be provided in order to accommodate all the members of the study. About 30 questions will be utilized, and no more than one hour will be offered in order to give answers. This time limit is objective because all the research members will be able to answer the questions honestly and impartially, which, in turn, will allow obtaining objective data. At the end of the allotted time, the results will be collected for the subsequent evaluation and comparison of the information. Upon the completion of the assessment, the participants will be notified of the results of the work conducted.
Data Analysis
The step of data analysis is an important stage of any research. In this qualitative study, the results of the participants’ responses will be analyzed based on the method proposed by Belotto (2018). The author gives an example of structural coding as a method of evaluating the obtaining results and explains this methodology as a mechanism that allows highlighting the key parameters for evaluation (Belotto, 2018).
For instance, since the current study examines human aggression and its premises, in particular, a certain social background, corresponding variables are to be distinguished. As these variables, positive and negative relationships in the family, normal and deviant behavior of parents, and friendly or hostile communication with peers will be applied.
These aspects are the basis of the analysis and can help interpret the participants’ data by using a special rating scale that, in turn, may be a four-stage assessment principle. Belotto (2018) describes this mechanism and deciphers all its four stages – “no relevance, low relevance, moderate relevance, and strong relevance” (p. 2623). This strategy may help explain the data obtained in accordance with the proposed evaluation system and make relevant conclusions.
All the procedures presented will be carried out within one week, and this time for data processing is due to a large amount of the information received. Based on the proposed rating scale, the outcomes of the qualitative study will be compiled in accordance with the categories of impact and relevance of the proposed variables. The results of the analysis will be taken into account when answering the stated research question and the offered hypothesis. In case the theory of the influence of a social background on human aggression is confirmed, this will be an incentive for additional studies aimed at assessing the correlation of specific prerequisites with their implications.
Ethical Issues
To conduct an unbiased and credible study, relevant ethical nuances are to be respected. Firstly, the written consent of the participants should be obtained, which is a mandatory measure when working with personal data.
All the involved persons, in turn, have to sign an obligation to provide honest data without deception in the answers to the questions posed. Secondly, all the members of the study should receive a guarantee of confidentiality because the disclosure of individual information, in particular, a tendency to mental disorders, is a violation of professional ethics. There will be no potential harm to the participants, and there is no conflict of interests. In order to avoid complaints and allegations of the misuse of personal data, consent from the Institutional Review Board will be obtained. These conditions are essential to provide in order to conduct ethically sound research and follow the principles of unbiased scholarly activities.
Conclusion
Helping people to deal with uncontrolled aggression is the goal of this study, and evaluating a social background as a key prerequisite for manifesting deviant behavior may be a valuable intervention. By applying a qualitative research method and an experimental approach, the participants involved through selective sampling techniques will answer a number of questions that will be analyzed due to a special rating scale.
No ethical issues will manifest themselves, and the confidentiality of personal data will be preserved. The proposed study can help people learn about the causes of their aggression. Proving the initial hypothesis about the influence of the social environment on the formation of the disorder in question may be a step towards further work on the identification of such drivers.
References
Belotto, M. J. (2018). Data analysis methods for qualitative research: Managing the challenges of coding, interrater reliability, and thematic analysis. The Qualitative Report, 23(11), 2622-2633.
Hay, D. F. (2017). The early development of human aggression. Child Development Perspectives, 11(2), 102-106.
Liu, Q., & Maxwell, S. E. (2019). Multiplicative treatment effects in randomized pretest-posttest experimental designs. Psychological Methods, 25(1), 71-87.
Meter, D. J., Ehrenreich, S. E., & Underwood, M. K. (2019). Relations between parent psychological control and parent and adolescent social aggression. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(1), 140-151.
Newman, M. (2016). Research methods in psychology. (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
Trott, A., & Reeves, A. (2018). Social class and the therapeutic relationship: The perspective of therapists as clients. A qualitative study using a questionnaire survey. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 18(2), 166-177.