ESSAY ADDRESSING THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS:

Counseling

Counseling

(a) Summarise the research article on 'therapists' experiences of relational depth'

According to the description when a therapist experiences changes in the behavior of aggressive patients the interpretation of previous studies that have reported higher levels of aggression in young males compared to young females. Aggression is consistent in both genders, as groups, it simply takes different forms in young boys and young girls. While boys with high levels of physical and verbal aggression have been found to be at risk for antisocial behavior, Crick and Grotpeter suggest that relationally aggressive females are at risk for serious adjustment difficulties. According to the social learning theory, boys learn to be physically and verbally aggressive, while girls learn to be relationally aggressive, because of the models which with they are presented. (Cooper 2005 Pp. 87)

Cooper 2005 Pp. 88 investigated the amount of time children spent playing video games and aggressive and prosocial behavior. They also considered the child's preference for aggressive video games and their behavior. They found that video game use did not affect the child's aggression, but was significantly negatively related to prosocial behavior. They also found that children, especially boys, who preferred aggressive video games not only showed less prosocial behavior, but also were more aggressive. Another significant correlation found in this study was that these children that preferred more aggressive video games were less intelligent than other children. This provides further support for social learning theory, more specifically, the social cognitive theory of the development of aggression.

Aggressive models increase aggressive behavior in the subject. Furthermore, exposure to aggressive models, may alter one's cognition, creating a preference for aggressive material. All of the research that has been done on aggression is designed to find predictors of behavior that is detrimental to society, so that psychologists can apply their findings to reduce aggression in children so they do not become violent adults. The theory that one believes best explains the development of aggression in children will determine what form of treatment or prevention we as a society should take. (Cooper 2005 Pp. 90) For our society to become a less violent community, we must treat those with abnormally high levels of aggression as well as take preventative measures to ensure that future members of our society are not as aggressive or violent. The behavior and social learning approaches are more effective when administered after the patient has first received pharmacological treatment. Perhaps the only form or prevention an innate theorist can envision is genetic engineering. If one is aggressive because of his or her genes, manipulation of genetic information is the only sensible means to prevent aggressive people

(b) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the approach to research contained in this article

The treatment of aggression, from a social learning approach, would be to provide models of desired, prosocial behavior, while reinforcing these models. Controlling the child's environment to exclude any aggressive models would be the only way to be certain the child cannot learn ...