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AN OBSERVATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHANGE IN TWO GROUPS OF BEHAVIOURALLY DISTURBED BOYS
Author(s) -
Abramovitch Rona,
Konstantareas Mary,
Sloman Leon
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1980.tb00025.x
Subject(s) - prosocial behavior , psychology , observational study , imitation , developmental psychology , observational learning , empathy , clinical psychology , social psychology , medicine , mathematics education , pathology , experiential learning
SUMMARY Two groups of 5–7‐year‐old behaviourally disturbed boys involved in a group therapy programme were observed on several occasions near the beginning and near the end of the programme. Observers recorded occurrences of aggressive, prosocial and imitative behaviours. In both groups and for all but one individual the ratio of prosocial to aggressive behaviours increased over the two observation periods. The rate of imitation remained stable. It is suggested that observational techniques may be quite useful in assessing the effectiveness of therapy in promoting changes in social behaviour and social process.