Psychology 3260: Personality & Social Development Don Hartmann Spring 2007 Lecture 10: Peers I

Overview of Peer Relations I Lecture Finish Piaget Overlap with text, pp & –Who Are Peers? –Why Study Peers? –Historical Perspective Scientific Investigations of the Peer Group: Early Period Next: Lecture 12: Peers II

Supplementary References: Peers I Rubin, K.H., Coplan, R.J., Chen, X., Buskirk, A.A., Wojslawowicz, J.C. (2005). Peer relations in childhood. In M.H. Bornstein & M.E. Lamb (Eds.) Developmental science: An advanced textbook (5 th ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W., & Parker, J. G. (1998). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In W. Damon (Series Ed.) N. Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology, Vol. 3: Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp ). New York: Wiley.

Peers: Who are they? In age-graded society, children within a year of age of one another; individuals of a similar level of behavioral complexity However, wider age variation true of neighborhood social groups

Parental vs. Peer Relationships Parents Peers Parents Peers Hierarchical Equalitarian Nurturance Competition DependencyReciprocity

Ellis et al.: Neighborhood Companions

What do children do with their peers? High Tech Method Hi tech (Csikszentmihalyi & Larsen): Experience time sampling

What do children do with their peers? Low Tech Method Diaries (Zarbatany et al. & Hartmann et al.) 10-14%: Hanging out, Team sports, & Classroom activities 5-9%: Recreational activities, individual sports, study/rehearsal, & eating

Who Cares? And Why? Increasing evidence that peers are critical to our eventual adult functioning –Animal studies: Harlow's studies of peer deprived monkeys) –Longitudinal studies of children who have faulty peer relations, particularly those who are either aggressive or rejected (Parker & Asher, 1987 Psychological Bulletin review), indicates that these children are at risk for later problems. Important for development of social control, social skills, and social values.

The Declining Influence of Parents?

SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS OF THE PEER GROUP The early period Early observational work (Ruth Arrington at Yale); early studies of gangs  Work of Kurt Lewin  Moreno's work on sociometric techniques.

Sociometric Classifications Positive Nominations Few Many Negative Nominations Many Few Controversial Popular RejectedNeglected

Assessing Popularity Referred to as Sociometric Status (SMS) Started with Moreno (of Psychodrama fame) Participants asked two questions (nominations or ratings): –Who do you like? –Who do you dislike? Then construct two dimensions –Like + Dislike = Social Impact –Like – Dislike = Social Preference Individuals assigned to classification categories based upon their Social Impact and Social Preference scores

Rejected Popular Average Neglected Controversial Average Social Preference Social Impact Low High Is the child liked?

The Results Of the 60% who are classifiable (40% are “other”) –15% average –7.5% controversial –7.5% neglected –15% popular –15 rejected. Peer-based classification agree with teacher ratings Accurately predict the character of children’s peer interactions Stability: Controversial least stable; rejected most stable.

What are they like? Large number of observational, peer report, and self-report studies on children’s SMS Rejected kids: – Rejected-aggressive: uncooperative, critical; little prosocial behavior. At greatest risk for future problems –Rejected-withdrawn: awkward, insensitive, and immature. Lonely with low self esteem Popular: outgoing, friendly, supportive, and calm. Initiate interactions and resolve disputes amicably. Prosocial and not aggressive Neglected: passive and shy. Don’t initiate and don’t call attention to self Controversial: the jokesters; some evidence that controversial adolescent girls are more likely to have kids early

17 Summary of Social Cognition Lecture Lecture –Who Are Peers? –Why Study Peers? –Historical Perspective –Scientific Investigations of the Peer Group: Early Period Next: Lecture #11: Peers II Go in Peace