Social Psychology
It is well known that participants of a culture or in a group take on the existing values or norms of the group. A democratic “climate” produces democratic values, and a sportsman-like “climate” produces attitudes of sportsmanship.
We perceive these situations in terms of the norms we bring from the group situation. We deal here with the role of suggestion in the formation of attitudes.
Using parent rating and child behaviour rating scales, Baldwin found that democratically raised children were more active, were more extroverted, and were favoured in their group. They rated high in intellectual curiosity, originality, and constructiveness.
The rated high in intellectual curiosity, originality, and constructiveness. The variable “indulgence” seemed to produce the opposite effects of democracy.
It is found that individual subjects tended to be strongly influenced by others in the group, the degree of influence being affected by the prestige and leadership qualities of certain group members.
The findings have implications for values stressed in games and sports, for major attitudes are derived from groups to which we relate ourselves or of which we regard ourselves as members.
The researcher found it feasible to influence nursery school children’s food preferences through social suggestion. After determining the children’s preferences and their tendency to imitate others, stories were told to present certain foods in an attractive light and other foods in an unattractive light.
Sixty-seven percent of the children in the experimental group chose the food presented as attractive against only 13 percent of the children in the control group. Implications may be drawn for seeking character education outcomes through play situations.
Symonds, studying normal adolescent boys and girls, concluded that the greatest need of these adolescents was opportunity for social participation and that the greatest personality handicap was social isolation. Physical education and recreation activities were indicated.
Kight, Stone, and Lifshitz and Sakoda have drawn conclusions concerning camping experiences in the changing of social attitudes and in meeting social and emotional needs of children and adolescents.
