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International Journal of
Offender Therapy and
Comparative Criminology
Volume 54 Number 5
October 2010 850-856
2010 SAGE Publications
10.1177/0306624X09338037
http://ijo.sagepub.com
hosted at
http://online.sagepub.com
A Brief Report
Sharon Lipperman-Kreda
Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research
and Evaluation, Berkeley, CA
Joseph Glicksohn
Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
In this brief report, antisocial and prosocial adolescents are contrasted in terms
of impulsivity and venturesomeness, and the cognitive style of field dependence
independence are assessed using the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The
data have been collected from a total of 366 youths, ranging in age between 12 and
18 years. Antisocials are found to score below average, whereas the prosocials score
above average on the GEFT.
Keywords: antisocial; prosocial; impulsivity; venturesomeness; field dependence
independence
same construct. However, H. J. Eysenck (1983) argued that although the RFT, but
not the GEFT, includes an impulsive component, the GEFT should indicate that field
dependence (FD) is aligned with sociability. Given the focus here on the relationship
between FDI and social behavior (Bosacki, Innerd, & Towson, 1997; Tamir & Nadler,
2007), GEFT is the more suitable test. Although the task is clearly one of perceptual
disembedding (detecting a simple geometric figure embedded within a complex one),
the style has ramifications for ones sensitivity to, and dependence on, the social field
(Witkin & Goodenough, 1977). To the best of our knowledge, FDI has not previously
been used in studying antisocial or prosocial adolescents. We have opted to run a feasibility study to investigate whether the GEFT will be useful.
Method
Participants
Complete data were collected from 366 participants (181 males, 185 females), from
Grades 7 through 11 (n = 83, 71, 76, 54, 82, respectively; Mage = 12.65, 13.68, 14.86,
15.91, 16.62 years), from two junior high schools in Israel (n = 209 and 157, respectively). The study was approved both by the school principals and the Ministry of
Education. Class recruitment depended on the class teachers agreement to participate.
Measures
Impulsivity (Imp) and venturesomeness (Vent). The Hebrew version (Leshem &
Glicksohn, 2007) of the junior Impulsiveness Questionnaire (I5; S. B. G. Eysenck &
Eysenck, 1980) was administered.
Field dependenceindependence. The GEFT (Witkin et al., 1971) requires one to
detect a simple geometric figure that is embedded within a complex one. The GEFT
is divided into three parts, with 5 minutes to complete each part. The total number
of correct answers in the second and the third sections is the GEFT score (0-18).
Social behavior. (a) The class teachers assessment of antisocial and prosocial
behavior, based on experience with the student (including continuing contact with
the students parents, other teachers, the school consultant, etc.), was used. In School
A, a bipolar scale was used ranging from 1 (antisocial) to 7 (prosocial). In School
B, two separate monopolar scales were used; one ranging from 1 (very antisocial) to
7 (not antisocial at all), and the other ranging from 1 (not prosocial at all) to 7 (very
prosocial). At the beginning of each interview (lasting about an hour for each class),
each teacher was informed that antisocial behavior should be viewed as being any
action performed to the detriment of others; prosocial behavior would be any action
performed to their benefit (Eisenberg, 2003). Teacher nominations of antisocial
students are highly correlated with peer nominations (Henry, Miller-Johnson,
Simon, & Schoeny, 2006). Their use of rating scales is acceptable for both antisocial
and prosocial behavior (Carlo, Hausmann, Christiansen, & Randall, 2003; Gest,
2006), even when a minimal number of scales is used (Aluja-Fabregat, BallestAlmacellas, & Torrubia-Beltri, 1999). There is a caveat here: Ratings might well be
influenced by academic achievement, which correlates positively with prosocial and
negatively with antisocial behavior (Ma, Shek, Cheung, & Lee, 1996). A self-rating
scale (see below) was therefore also used.
(b) A Hebrew version of Rushton, Chrisjohn, and Fekkens (1981) Altruism Scale
was used. Altruism serves as a convenient filter when screening the class teachers
assessment (see below).
Procedure. The study was run by the first author in two sessions in each class.
The participants completed the GEFT in the first session, and the questionnaires in
different orders in the next. A teacher was present in the classroom throughout.
Interviews with each class teacher were conducted at the end of data collection.
Results
Rating Antisocial and Prosocial Behavior
For School A, the following cutoff points were used: 1, 2 = antisocial (n = 14,
6.7%); 3, 4, 5 = normative (n = 136, 65.1%); 6, 7 = prosocial (n = 59, 28.2%). For
School B, the average of both scales was computed, resulting in a single prosocial
antisocial rating, with cut-off points as follows: 1 to 2.49 = antisocial (n = 6, 3.85%);
2.50 to 5.49 = normative (n = 112, 71.8%); 5.50 to 7 = prosocial (n = 38, 24.4%).
Although the percentage of antisocials conforms to that which is expected (Moffitt,
1993), the percentage of prosocials seems to be quite high. Now, prosocial individuals
should score relatively high on the Altruism Scale (Carlo, Eisenberg, Troyer, Switzer,
& Speer, 1991), whereas antisocial individuals should score relatively low here. The
new criteria for exclusion were as follows: prosocials scoring less than 3.5 on the
scale, and antisocials scoring more than 2.5. The frequency of antisocial behavior was
now set at 3.21% (n = 9), and for prosocial behavior, 8.21% (n = 23).
The distribution of antisocials, normatives, and prosocials in both schools shows
that irrespective of whether individuals are excluded, the two distributions are quite
similar, 2(2) < 1, or 2.4, respectively (both ns). The prosocialantisocial rating for
School A (M = 4.22, SD = 0.99) did not significantly differ from that of School B
(M = 4.11, SD = 0.95; t < 1, df = 278), allowing pooling of the data.
Table 1
Profiles for Antisocial, Normative, and Prosocial Groups
Impulsiveness (0-22)
Venturesomeness (0-19)
Group
Antisocial
(n = 9)
Normative
(n = 248)
Prosocial
(n = 23)
SD
SD
Group Embedded
Figures Test (0-18)
M
SD
15.33 (13.55) 2.45 (3.86) 14.56 (14.10) 2.30 (2.49) 5.22 (6.05)
3.77 (4.61)
69.70
11.14
76.61
12.09
29.01
20.93
13.11
4.37
12.51
3.32
8.49
5.30
59.61
19.86
65.86
17.49
47.13
29.43
11.44 (12.47) 4.44 (4.27) 13.04 (12.56) 3.24 (3.58) 10.18 (10.07) 5.99 (5.35)
51.98
20.18
68.65
17.05
56.52
33.28
Note: The first row of values for each group is based on the raw data, the second on the percentage value.
The value in parentheses refers to the original group of antisocials (n = 20) and prosocials (n = 97), prior
to the exclusion of individuals (including one who scored as both antisocial and prosocial).
conducted. The Group Profile interaction was significant, F(4, 554) = 4.58,
MSE = 16.66, p < .005, indicating different profiles for antisocial, normative, and
prosocial adolescents (see Table 1). The value of transforming the data into a percentage score should also be considered, by dividing the raw data by the (theoretical)
maximum of the scale. Both approaches were adopted and it was seen that for each
case there is a significant interaction.
The ample size of the normative group allows the use of a 95% confidence interval for the normative population mean for each of Imp (12.56, 13.66), Vent (12.10,
12.92), and performance on the GEFT (7.82, 9.14). Relative to these values (see
Table 1), it can be concluded that the antisocials score above the normative mean in
both Imp and Vent and well below the normative mean on the GEFT. The prosocials
score below the normative mean in Imp and above the normative mean on both Vent
and the GEFT. On reinstating individuals previously excluded, it was found that the
antisocials score above the normative mean in Vent and below the normative mean
on the GEFT. The prosocials score below the normative mean in Imp and above the
normative mean on the GEFT. Thus, it can be concluded that antisocials score low
on the GEFT, whereas prosocials score high on the GEFT.
Discussion
One may argue whether antisocial and prosocial behaviors should be viewed as
two poles of the same underlying dimension (hence the use of a bipolar rating scale
in School A) or different dimensions (hence the use of two separate monopolar
scales in school B). Given that this is a feasibility study, it is not in a position to
adequately address these issues. Indeed, a major weakness of the study is the small
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