Wayne State University

Class Memo
To: Derek Risse
From: Harman Singh
Date: 10 July 2016
Subject: Progress Report on Social Research Experiment.
Introduction:
This social research projects intent is to motivate large groups of children to listen to, and
respect, adults. While this is the general theme of the project, the target parameters could not
have been so large. As such, the chosen demographic was children between the ages of seven
and ten years old. The situation in question, where the research is taking place is a youth club,
known as the Boys and Girls Club of Troy. This research is completely safe and is only there to
explore the communal dynamic between children. This is because most children at this
workplace seem to only misbehave in large groups. In order to see if this group dynamic can be
used to ensure they pay attention to the staff of the workplace, this research is being conducted.
Essentially, the research aims to ensure the children are well-behaved when conducting activities.
Primary Research:
The primary research proceeding as scheduled. The control group data has been taken and stored
to be compared with the three experiments.
Time Until Children Are Quiet
Time (min)
Monday
19.5
Tuesday
17.4
Wednesday
11.2
Thursday
18.9
Friday
17.7
Average: 16.9 minutes
The average may be skewed due to Wednesday being an outlier. Wednesday is the day
snow cones are sold so this appears to have an effect on their behavior.
At this point, back-talking and outright verbal aggression are common.
Certain children have already been targeted for future research as they seem to show the
most hostility to the temporary authority.
At least two behavior incidents daily
Parents have been notified and effects await observation.
Experiment 1 has also been conducted, and the subjects have shown a positive reaction to the
treatment.
Time Until Quiet (Experiment 1)
Time (min)
Monday
14.2
Tuesday
12.3
Wednesday
10.1

Thursday
12.6
Friday
13.7
Average: 12.6 minutes
Several of the more problematic children now sit quietly and seem to show a tendency to
speak nicely to the staff.
Several staff also reported that the children who get penalized in their point values also
desist the majority of the time.
A problem has arisen however. The children have lost their uncertainty. In short, the children
have understood what gives them points and assume they have control over the point flow. Once
the child has this, their incentive is dissolved and they begin to disregard the rules. This is a
concept further explored in the secondary source addressed later in the memo. However, both
the staff and I agree that Experiment 2 shows more promise. The expectation is that experiment
2 will take the group dynamic the children have and use it to ensure the child is being rebuked by
his peers rather than the staff. In an effort to prevent their friends from being angry, the students
should, in theory, attempt to follow the rules more often. With the extra responsibility of being
responsible for their peers actions as well, even those children who believe they could
manipulate the point flow are kept off balance because of their peers unpredictability.
Secondary Research:
The book on child psychology was very informative and helpful to this research. Mr. Kagan
goes into extreme detail linking childrens tendencies to commit wrongdoings to a sense of
uncertainty rather than malice. Many of Mr. Kagans hypotheses were based on a single core
belief: children who commit wrongdoing are not doing it out of wickedness, but instead do it to
understand how far they can push their boundaries until they face a reaction. Once this point is
reached, and the child believes they can control this reaction, they begin showing disinterest.
Applying this theory to this situation, one can theorize the children are intentionally upsetting the
staff not as hindrances, but to understand what triggers punishment. Because we are not
interacting with the children for long enough to get their respect, the children commit acts like
this as a temporary measure. This also explains the apathy shown by the children after
experiment 1. A child is in complete control of their own actions. Their only uncertainty is the
parameters within which they can act to get the points or prizes. As such, when enough
experience is gained to where the child can predict how to act and believe they control the point
flow, they become less likely to strive for the goal, for now we are cast into their rhythm instead.
Possible Outcomes and Conclusion:
Possible outcomes for experiment 2 have already been assessed earlier in the memo. As such,
the hopeful outcome is also the most likely: the children will show better results under
experiment 2 as it gives the children the added uncertainty of their peers behavior. This
approach has not been altered much by the research, rather the view from which the behavior is
explained has been changed. What I may have attributed to other variables will now be
attributed to what is learned through the secondary research. Overall, the project appears to be
progressing efficiently, and much is being uncovered about childrens motivations and behavior
patterns thanks to both primary and secondary research outcomes.