 |
| | | | |
Child Development - A Thematic Approach
, Fifth Edition
Danuta Bukatko - College of the Holy Cross
Marvin W. Daehler - University of Massachusetts, Amherst
| | |
| | Chapter Outline
Chapter 15:
Peers
-
Developmental changes in peer relations
Peers are companions who are at approximately the same age and developmental level. Peers often function as equals and exert a powerful
influence on children's socialization.-
Early peer exchanges and play
In the first few months, infants recognize and respond to peers differently than they do to caregivers and other adults.
During the first year, interactions with peers are brief. By the second year,
peer interactions become longer as children begin to engage in play. By the
third year, peer interactions become more frequent. Young children have been observed to engage
in (1) solitary play, in which they play alone, apart from other children; (2) parallel play, in which they play alone but beside other children; and (3) cooperative play, in which they interact during play. Social pretend play ("make-believe" play) emerges during the preschool years. Although the emergence of social
pretend play may be universal, its content probably differs across cultures. -
The school years and adolescence
Children begin to engage in group activities when they start elementary
school. Rough-and-tumble play becomes more prominent during the elementary school years, particularly in
boys. Preadolescents spend a lot of time talking to one another and playing sports. By adolescence, many children form cliques and identify with a crowd. The influence of cliques and crowds can be strong, providing a child with
prescriptions for how to dress and behave. In adolescence, increased interest in the opposite sex adds the element of sexuality to peer relations.
By early adulthood, most individuals lose interest in cliques and crowds
and become more independent and secure with their self-identities.
-
Peer group dynamics
-
Peer group formation
Peer groups form as children who share backgrounds, interests, and activities
interact. Peer group formation and operation were described in the classic experiment known as the Robber's Cave Study. Fifth-graders who did not know one another were placed in one
of two groups. The interactions among the children within each group (intragroup)
and between the two groups (intergroup) were examined throughout the period of the study and yielded several interesting observations.
Groups form when individuals share activities and have similar goals. As
a group takes shape, some individuals assume a more dominant role than others.
A group's identity strengthens when there is competition with other groups, although intergroup
conflict often rises. Animosity between peer groups is reduced when the two
groups are made to work together to achieve some common goals. Easily identifiable
perceptual characteristics associated with children can provide a means to quickly establish groups. -
Dominance hierarchies
Very early in the process of peer group formation, children establish dominance
hierarchies. These dominance hierarchies remain stable. Dominance hierarchies
may serve to improve a group's chances of meeting certain objectives, make social relationships more predictable,
and provide greater control over the aggressive tendencies of members of
the group. Dominance hierarchies may shift as children become older and intellectual
and social skills become more important. -
Peer pressure and conformity
Seventh-through-twelfth-graders have reported that they felt the greatest
pressure to spend time with peers and excel in school and the least amount of pressure to engage in misconduct. Older adolescents, however, report more
pressure to engage in misconduct. Children's tendency to conform to peer pressure peaks in early adolescence but declines
by late adolescence. Young adolescents' increased vulnerability to peer pressure may be partly a result of greater independence from
their parents and partly a result of adjusting to a new school setting. Peer
pressure, in general, is probably less influential than the roles that specific
peers play in affecting development.
-
Peers as agents of socialization
-
Peers as models
Social learning theory argues that peers serve as an important model of behavior.
Peer models, particularly models viewed as competent, can promote negative
behaviors such as aggression as well as positive behaviors such as sharing. -
Peers as reinforcers
Peers control the behaviors of their friends through reinforcement and punishment.
-
Peer popularity and social competence
Examining Research Methods: Using Questionnaires to Assess Peer Status
Approaches to measuring peer acceptance have often relied on two types of questionnaires. Sociometric nomination asks children to name peers who fit a specific criterion. A sociometric rating scale asks children to rate peers on a variety of characteristics. These measures
are often used to identify children who are popular, rejected, neglected, or controversial
among their peers. One concern about these procedures is whether these ratings
produce the same kind of results as when children are asked more directly
about characteristics of other children such as their popularity. For example, rating someone as well-liked
and describing them as popular may not lead to the same result. Another concern
is that such techniques are limited to one-to-one evaluations and fail to
consider peer relationships within the larger group. Newer procedures have been designed to establish
composite social maps, diagrams based on children's ratings of the multi-layered makeup of peer patterns of interactions. Subtle
changes in wording and the ways in which questionnaires are structured may also have a substantial influence on the information
that is obtained. |
-
Characteristics of popular and unpopular children
Peer popularity is influenced by many factors. Children rate attractive children as more friendly, intelligent, and social than unattractive
children. Children who are proficient in motor skills are more likely to
have greater peer acceptance. The most important factor in determining popularity
appears to be social skills. Popular children show more social skills than rejected and neglected
children, who often behave in socially inappropriate ways. Researchers often
examine social competence by observing a child's behavior as the child enters an unfamiliar group of children at play. Whereas rejected children tend to disrupt the ongoing
activity of the group by drawing attention to themselves, popular children
are more likely to integrate themselves into the group gradually by making
appropriate statements that do not divert attention from the group's activities. Neglected children tend to watch passively and therefore are
less likely to be incorporated into the group's play. Children who are more successful in regulating their emotions receive
more positive evaluations from their peers. Children who display more positive social skills are
increasingly accepted by peers throughout the school years. Rejected children
often show lower school achievement and emotional problems later on in life.
Atypical Development: Social Withdrawal
Many developmental psychologists believe that along with aggression, social
withdrawal is one of the most important indicators of a behavioral problem.
Although children may often prefer to play by themselves, a persistent pattern may lead to anxiety
and increased negativity from peers. A biological temperament predisposed
to shyness or parenting patterns that are highly controlling and directive
may also contribute to social withdrawal. When such patterns continue throughout childhood, they can even
be a problem in cultures where a shy personality trait is often valued. |
-
The origins of social competence
Children who are securely attached to caregivers often have positive relations with peers. Parents have
a major impact on their children's social behaviors by serving as models and providing explicit instructions
on how to behave. Children's behaviors often resemble their parents' behaviors. When introducing their children to a play group of peers, mothers
of unpopular children tend to interrupt the group's activities, whereas mothers of popular children tend to encourage their
children to join the activities of the group without disruption. Mothers of popular children are also less disagreeable and demanding
when at play with their children. The greater the number of peer contacts
the parent initiates, the higher the child's popularity. Children who attend day care are often more socially competent than children who are reared at home.
Kenneth Dodge's five-step model of social competence is an information-processing model
that describes the cognitive and behavioral skills a child needs to enter
a group of children successfully. The child must first perceive the group's cues correctly (step 1) and correctly interpret the signals (step 2). The
child must then generate one or more potential responses (step 3), evaluate
the possible consequences of each behavior, and choose a response (step 4). After performing the behavior, the child must monitor the outcome and
modify the behavior, if necessary, before repeating the cycle (step 5). Popular
children are better than unpopular children at each step of the model. Thus,
popular children have greater knowledge of social skills and put this knowledge to good use in the
behavior they manifest. Unpopular children have limited knowledge, which
is reflected in their behavior and contributes to continuing unpopularity.
Research Applied to Parenting: Helping the Victims of Aggression
Nearly 10 percent of children are estimated to be chronic victims of aggression.
These victims show less positive social adjustment than other children. Research
suggests that victims tend to be passive and unassertive with peers. Interventions designed to teach victims to become
more confident, become skilled in some kind of physical activity that will
signal strength rather than weakness, establish friendships with others having
similar interests, and become involved in activities outside the family, can significantly reduce the
number of children being bullied. Victims who are themselves aggressive may
need additional types of intervention. |
-
Training social skills
Modeling can be effective in improving social interactions in socially withdrawn
children. In one study, withdrawn children who watched videotapes of children
playing together showed increased numbers of social interactions and experienced
more positive social responses from peers. Reinforcement of appropriate social behaviors
and direct instruction in social skills, called coaching, are also very effective
training techniques. Even very young children can benefit from training designed
to teach social skills.
-
Children's friendships
-
Children's patterns and conceptions of friendship
To preschoolers, a peer or a friend is a playmate, someone with whom to play and share things. In the middle-school years, children become
increasingly concerned with peer acceptance. Cross-sex friendships are rare,
and children begin to spend more time with same-sex friends than with either
parent. Friendship interactions include cooperation and conflicts, with gossip being a major instrument
to assess the attitudes and beliefs of peers. Middle childhood is also a
time when children, particularly girls, begin to instill intimacy and trust
into friendships. Boys' friendships are usually extensive, while girls' circles of friends are smaller but more intense. These sex differences may
be a result of the types of games that the sexes play. By adolescence, same-sex
friendships continue to be important providers of intimacy and trust, and the frequency of opposite-sex interactions increases as well. -
How children become friends
Children become friends when they succeed in exchanging information. Friendships
are likely to be maintained if children actively search for activities they
can share and if they successfully resolve conflicts that arise. Older children maintain friendships
through clarity of communication and self-disclosure. -
The functions of friendship
Friendship forms a basis of emotional support, protecting children from anxiety and stress, and increasing self-esteem. Friends
provide opportunities to learn and practice social skills, such as cooperation
and conflict resolution. Childhood friendships also provide the opportunity
to learn about the benefits of intimacy. Relationship styles established in childhood may serve
as the foundation for adult relationships. The establishment of friendships
are usually seen as positive. However, friendships may also be formed that
sustain and encourage aggression or other anti-social behaviors.
| |
| |
|
|
|
