Modelling goal adjustment in social relationships: Two experimental studies with children and adults

摘要

In two experiments, we investigated observational learning in social relationships as one possible pathway to the development of goal adjustment processes. In the first experiment, 56 children (M = 9.29 years) observed their parent as a model; in the second, 50 adults (M = 32.27 years) observed their romantic partner. Subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: goal engagement (GE), goal disengagement (GD), or control group (CO) and were asked to solve (unsolvable) puzzles. Before trying to solve the puzzles by themselves, subjects observed the instructed model, who was told to continue with the same puzzle (GE) or to switch to the next puzzle (GD). Results show that children in the GE group switched significantly less than in the GD or CO group. There was no difference between the GD group and CO group. Adults in the GE group switched significantly less than in the GD or CO group, whereas subjects in the GD group switched significantly more often than the CO group.