Jodi Domanic

Publication Date

1987

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Gnepp, Jackie E.

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Psychology

LCSH

Internalization; Compliance; Children--Attitudes; Social control

Abstract

The effects of complying under a minimally sufficient versus an overly sufficient control technique and of noncomplying on children's self-perceptions and future behavior were explored. Thirty male and 30 female children, mean age 8, engaged in two resistance-to-temptation situations. In situation one, children were engaged in one of five conditions. In the three experimental conditions, children were told to watch a goldfish and not watch T.V. while the experimenter left the room for 15 minutes. The setting was manipulated and instructions given such that children either complied under no threat of punishment, complied under strong threat of punishment, or noncomplied under no threat of punishment. In the two control conditions, children were told to watch the goldfish but were not restricted from watching TV. Situation two occurred one week after situation one. Children were told they would be rating toys. They were blindfolded, led into a room, and seated with their backs facing toys on a table. Children were told that since the experimenter needed to ask them some questions before they saw the toys, they were not to turn around when she removed the blindfold. After removing the blindfold, the experimenter remembered that she had forgotten her questions. Children were told not to turn around while the experimenter left the room for 10 minutes. Children's behavior during the temptation periods of both situations was observed through a one-way mirror and recorded. At the end of each situation, children were administered a self-description task designed to assess their view of themselves as a compliant person. The results of this study are not supportive of the hypothesis that the severity of technique utilized to gain prior compliance affects degree of subsequent compliance. However, various methodological factors combined to render the present findings inconclusive. Similarly, the results provided only limited support for the hypothesis that prior noncompliance is an important factor affecting subsequent degree of compliance. Whereas children who noncomplied in situation one tended to be more noncompliant subsequently than children who complied or who were not asked to comply in situation one, overall the differences between these groups were not statistically significant.

Comments

Bibliography: pages [111]-119.

Extent

viii, 119 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

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Text

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