Wayne State University

Class Memo
To: Derek Risse
From: Harman Singh
Date: 25 June 2016
Subject: Social Behavior Research Plan of Action at Boys and Girls Club
Introduction
Children between the ages of seven and 12 exhibit a distinct resistance towards
authority. This is especially true when the authority in question is temporary. These
cases include camp counselors, baby-sitters, anyone in temporary custody of said
children. The issue at hand is how to get the children to behave properly with this type of
authority. A subsection to this topic is the effects of healthy competition on the children.
This section will cover a live social experiment conducted at my workplace. Information
will be gathered from internet articles to find a theoretical approach, and an experiment
will be conducted for a practical approach
Audience
The primary audience for this report is of course instructor Derek Risse.
However, a second primary audience is the staff at childcare facilities and summer
camps. These are the people that have the decision-making power to implement these
policies in their respective workplaces. They are also affected most by the problem at
hand. The children are less likely to listen to them or respect them because they are
temporary authority. The research done in this project could help them reach more
desired results. A secondary audience could be parents who could benefit from learning
the results of the different approaches. It is important for parents to realize ways to
incentivize children in order to get them to listen to the parents. This is much less
frequent in households, but parents may still benefit from the insight this project gives.
Primary Research
Primary Research is going to be experimental in nature. As a staff of my
workplace, I have the jurisdiction required to alter the way children interact with one
another. The primary research will be testing two different approaches. The initial
approach is inducing competition between the children. The theory here is that making
the kids compete for a prize will allow the staff to work with them in a more efficient
manner. The problem this research addresses can be alleviated if this approach is
successful. While it does not completely solve the respect issues, it keeps the children
obedient and could be received as a possible solution. In this particular situation, the
incentive is candy and being first in line to get snow cones.
The second experiment variation on the original approach. The children will be
split into groups and then they will compete against one another as teams rather than
alone. The theory behind this is that the other group members help keep the troublesome
kids in line. The important factor here is that data is taken. There are three main

categories of data are: the length of time it takes the children to quiet down, the number
of behavior incidents, and the reactions of the other staff to the childrens behavior.
These will be taken through survey and my own observations.
Secondary Research
The secondary research is mainly focused on childrens motivations and behavior
pattern. This research will most be used as a theoretical research tool. There are
currently three articles that fit this topic. One is a book that will be available within 10
days. Understanding children; behavior, motives, and thought. By Jerome Kagan is a
fantastic source that covers the different types of motivations a child can be affected by.
As such, it is a valuable research tool for this particular problem. Other sources will
follow similar conventions and will be used in the same way. The essence of the research
will be compare/contrasting the two experiments with the norm, and using the
information gathered from the sources to formulate a new experimental process. Once
these steps are complete the final experiment will be conducted and the results will be
recorded along with the findings of the other experiments and condensed into a final
report.
Timetable
Date
June 26-July 3

Assignment

July 4-July 10

July 11-July 18

July 19-July 24

Complete Primary Data collection of

control group: ie. Without changes
Finish Text 1: by Jerome Kagan
Record results

July 25-August

Implement Experiment 1
Finish Text 2-3
Record Results
Write Progress Report
Implement Experiment 2
Record Results
Complete Draft
Apply Peer Corrections to the
Draft
Continue Taking Experiment data
if initially successful
Continue searching for missing
data through secondary sources
Complete Final Draft

-END-

-ENDWorks Cited

Kagan, J. (1971). Understanding children: Behavior, motives, and thought. New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.