Friends & Peers

Question 1

Peers vs friends

Answer 1

peers = same age, sharing commonalities
friends = valued, mutual relationship (intimate)

Question 2

family and friends in adolescents

Answer 2

• time spend with family decreases -> about career/future
• time spent with friends increases (different activities) -> about relationships

Question 3

family and friends in adolescents - traditional culture

Answer 3

• involvement with peers greater for boys
• involvement with same-sex adults greater for boys
  -> more family time than in west

Question 4

higher highs, lower lows

Answer 4

• positive emotions; friends mirror emotions, free and open with friends
• negative emotions; emotionally vulnerable
  -> spending time with friends makes adolescents happier (weekends)
  -> deep feelings -> strong connections; relying on friends intimacy (Harry Stack Sullivan) -> key part to personal development

Question 5

importance of intimacy (cognition and gender)

Answer 5

-> more complex and abstract thinking
- ToM, romantic relationships, interest in other -> vulnerability
- sexual maturity
- girls more intimate friendships (may cause social aggression), boys more shared activity (physical aggression)

Question 6

friendships - emerging adulthood

Answer 6

• intimacy is key component
• less important when having romantic relationship (need to keep balance)
• other sex friendships (friends with benefits)
• harder to make new friends
  -> navigate conflict; emotional intimacy and independence at same time

Question 7

how we choose friends

Answer 7

• over similarities (behavior, school goals, risk takings, …)
  -> making similar choices

Question 8

4 support types - friends (Thomas Berndt)

Answer 8

1. informational = advising, guidance
2. instrumental = helping with tasks
3. companionship = doing activities together, relying on each other
4. esteem = congratulating for friends achievement

Question 9

friends influence -> risk behavior

Answer 9

• choose friends similar in risk behavior -> selective association (perceive friends to be similar)
• also help to discourage behavior

Question 10

conformity

Answer 10

-> peer pressure/friend influence (acting particularly to be accepted)
- on style, music, leisure activities, …
-> positive or negative

Question 11

popularity

Answer 11

-> when attractive, socially skilled, high in intelligence (unpopular when lacking social skills and having deficiencies in social skills (aggressive, shy, …)

Question 12

rarely disliked by peers & frequently nominated as best friends - peer statuses

Answer 12

popular

Question 13

actively disliked by peers & frequently nominated as best friends - peer statuses

Answer 13

controversial
-> aggressive but also high social skills (love or hate)

Question 14

rarely disliked by peers & infrequently nominated as best friends - peer statuses

Answer 14

neglected (nobodies)
-> socially anxious, not trying hard to get into social group, not stressed about not having many friends

Question 15

actively disliked by peers & infrequently nominated as best friends - peer statuses

Answer 15

rejected
-> socially awkward, insensitive to others, don’t care about not having friends (reject themselves, rejected by others)

Question 16

changing unpopularity?

Answer 16

hard; cannot improve social interactions when not engaging in them in the first place

-> interventions taken -> learning social skills

overall; popularity becomes less important when getting older, less important what others think (popularity going together with identity status)

Question 17

bullying

Answer 17

1. aggression
2. repetition (happening over and over)
3. power balance (bully has higher status than victim)
   -> negative effects for victim; physical and psychological