Scholarly Literature

Scholarly research articles and referenced works on learning and human development issues concerning boys

Konijn, Elly A.; Nije Bijvank, Marije; Bushman, Brad J. (2007). I wish I were a warrior: The role of wishful identification in the effects of violent video games on aggression in adolescent boys. Developmental Psychology, Vol 43(4), Jul 2007, 1038-1044. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.43.4.1038

This study tested the hypothesis that violent video games are especially likely to increase aggression when players identify with violent game characters. Dutch adolescent boys with low education ability (N=112) were randomly assigned to play a realistic or fantasy violent or nonviolent video game. Next, they competed with an ostensible partner on a reaction time task in which the winner could blast the loser with loud noise through headphones (the aggression measure). Participants were told that high noise levels could cause permanent hearing damage. Habitual video game exposure, trait aggressiveness, and sensation seeking were controlled for. As expected, the most aggressive participants were those who played a violent game and wished they were like a violent character in the game. These participants used noise levels loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage to their partners, even though their partners had not provoked them. These results show that identifying with violent video game characters makes players more aggressive. Players were especially likely to identify with violent characters in realistic games and with games they felt immersed in. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

DeBaryshe, Barbara D.; Patterson, Gerald R.; Capaldi, Deborah M. (1993). A performance model for academic achievement in early adolescent boys.

Developmental Psychology, Vol 29(5), Sep 1993, 795-804. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.29.5.795

Tests a model for conduct-related school failure in young adolescent boys. In this model, family characteristics and child antisocial behavior serve as predictors of school adjustment and academic performance. Ss were 206 youths and their families, followed from the 4th through 8th grades. Results indicated that low parental academic achievement was associated with ineffective discipline practices and child antisocial behavior in the 6th grade. Ineffective discipline had a direct and negative effect on boys' 7th-grade academic engagement. Boys' academic engagement, in turn, had a direct and positive effect on 8th grade academic achievement. A smaller direct effect of parental achievement on child achievement was also found. Results are discussed in terms of research on parental influence on academic success and life span models of the development of antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Gamoran, A. (1987). The stratification of high school learning opportunities. Sociology of education, 135-155.

This paper suggests that students' opportunities to learn may be stratified both between and within schools: Schools serving a more affluent and able clientele may offer more rigorous and enriched programs of study, and students in college-preparatory curricular programs may have greater access to advanced courses within schools. This notion is tested with a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of public school students from the High School and Beyond data base. The results show few between-school effects of school composition and offerings but important within-school influences of curriculum tracking and coursetaking. In most cases, the difference in achievement between tracks exceeds the difference in achievement between students and dropouts, suggesting that cognitive skill development is affected more by where one is in school than by whether or not one is in school.

Jul 1, 2007

Sep 1, 1993

Dec 1, 1987