PEER STATUS: MEASURING LIKING AND ACCEPTANCE Sociometric techniques – how individuals are perceived by members of their peer group Nominations; Roster-and-Rating Peer Acceptance: extend child preferred/liked by peers Peer Rejection: extent child disliked by peers Perceived Popularity - Ratings of how well a child is liked by his or her peers, made by teachers, parents, and children

POPULARITY VS. LIKING Sociometric Popularity High liking and acceptance May or may not have high status/power Perceived Popularity – peers perceived to have status, visibility, and ability to influence May be liked or not liked If aggressive, only viewed as popular by other aggressive children If aggressive, often results in delinquency, poor academics In childhood: sociometric liking and perceived popularity positively correlated In adolescence: weak or no relationship b/w sociometric liking and perceived popularity

TYPES OF PEER STATUS: MEASURES Acceptance = number of “most liked” nominations from peers Rejection = number of “least liked” nominations from peers Social Preference = acceptance minus rejection Measures likeability or sociometric popularity Social Impact = acceptance plus rejection Measures visibility within group or perceived popularity

TYPES OF PEER STATUS Peer StatusRejectionAcceptance Social Preference “liking” Social Impact “visibility” Popular/Accepted LOWHIGH Rejected HIGHLOW HIGH Controversial HIGH MODERATEHIGH Neglected LOW Average MODERATE

TYPES OF PEER STATUS (SOCIOMETRIC NOMINATIONS) Popular children Popular children - liked by many peers and disliked by very few Average children Average children - have some friends but are not as well liked as popular children Neglected children Neglected children - are often socially isolated and, although they are not necessarily disliked, have few friends Controversial children Controversial children - liked by many peers but also disliked by many Rejected children Rejected children - disliked by many peers and liked by very few

SUB-TYPES OF PEER STATUS Two types of popular children Popular-prosocial - friendly toward their peers and well liked Popular-aggressive - athletic, arrogant, and aggressive but at the same time viewed as “cool” and attractive Popular-aggressive Two types of rejected children Aggressive-rejected - not accepted by their peers because of their low level of self-control and high level of aggression Nonaggressive-rejected - tend to be anxious, withdrawn, and socially unskilled

SUB-TYPES OF PEER STATUS Two types of neglected children Socially reticent - watch others from afar, remain unoccupied in social company, and hover near but do not engage in interaction Unsociable or socially uninterested - not anxious or fearful but simply refrain from social interaction because they prefer to play alone

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE POPULAR?? Children and adolescents say: physical attractiveness, social connectedness Young children: popularity = liking and peer acceptance Adolescents: expand definition to include people who are easily recognized and grab attention Sociometric Liking - Agreeableness Negatively correlated with bullying, overt/relational aggression Positively correlated with prosocial behaviors and academic ability Perceived Popularity - Extraversion Positively correlated with bullying, social dominance/power (E), cool, athletic, leadership, social ability High in overt and relational aggression (Closson, 2009; Xi et al., 2006; LaFontana & Cilessen, 2009)

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE POPULAR?? Physical appearance Facial attractiveness Body build: Ectomorph, endomorph, mesomorph Pubertal effects Early maturing boys more popular Early maturing girls less popular Ability to blend in Children who look or act “odd” are unlikely to be popular Children with disruptive or hyperactive behavior are likely to be rejected Characteristics that matter Names (normal, not odd) Gender typical behavior (follow gender appropriate patterns) Clothing (“right “ or “in” style/ type) Ethnicity (children of same ethnicity more readily accept each other)

CAUSES OF PEER STATUS Temperament Poor effortful control and high extraversion-surgency → aggressive-rejected children Low extraversion-surgency → nonaggressive-rejected children Difficult children do not get along well with peers Inhibited children at risk for being neglected or rejected Temperament x Environment interactions Poor effortful control + parental conflict → rejection Shy + negative parenting → socially withdrawn

CAUSES OF PEER STATUS Parenting styles Authoritative vs. Authoritarian Parenting Overprotective parenting – Neglected children Abusive parenting – Rejected children Secure vs. Insecure Infant Attachment Cognitive skills Deficits in social skills can lead to maladaptive behavior, poor interactions, and reduced peer acceptance Opposite also true: Peer rejection can lead to deficits in social skills

OUTCOMES OF PEER STATUS Popular Aggressive – High Perceived Popularity Externalizing behaviors Engaging in risky behaviors Academic difficulties Rejected Children Loneliness, depression, LSE - Greater for non-aggressive rejected children Poor academic performance, greater delinquency, low-quality mentor relationships

OUTCOMES OF PEER STATUS: ATTRIBUTIONS Children’s attributions for Rejected Peer Internal for bad behaviors – “She’s not a nice person” External for good behaviors - “The teacher made her be nice to me” Children’s attributions for Popular and Average Children Internal for good behaviors – “She’s a nice person” External for bad behaviors - “She was mean because she was tired”

STABILITY OF POPULARITY For elementary-school children: strong, positive correlation between perceived and sociometric liking Secondary school: relationship declines Assessed relationship at 3 time points: 5 th grade, 9 th grade, 12 th grade (Cillessen & Borch, 2006) Boys – relationship declines, but remains positive (5 th grade: r =.77, 9 th grade: : r =.63; 12 th grade: : r =.30) Girls – relationship moves from positive in 5 th grade (r =.67), to no relationship in 9 th grade (r =.04), to negative in 12 th grade (r = -.49)