L9 - Child: Friends Flashcards
A ‘friend’ typically includes notions of:
Reciprocity (not necessarily an even exchange)
Mutuality (shared liking and preference to spend time together)
At what age do babies appear to try and get attention of other babies?
When do they try to imitate their peers?
Attention: 6-9 months
Imitation: 9-12 months
Are babies primed to form relationships?
Yes
Very young babies show excitement when see each other and often stares at other babies
At what age do toddlers show peer preference?
As early as 12-18 months
Observations of touching, smiling, interacting
From 20 months - start to see peer preferences
Deliberate initiation of more interactions with some children rather than others. Contribute more in games with them.
What factors do we typically see in developing new friendships in toddlers?
Pretend Play
Shared understanding
Higher rates of conflict (but more likely to resolve it)
In pre-school friendships, what is the defining feature?
Concrete reciprocities -
“I know Joe is my friend because we play this way” “we play with…”
What is the defining feature of friends in primary school (6-8 years)
Shared activities
- “fun to be with”
What is the defining feature of friends in primary school (9-10 years)
More sensitive to the needs of others
Concept of loyalty develops
What is the defining features of friends in adolescents?
Support (friends turn to each other for support needs)
Context for self-exploration (self identity; if I try this out, will I get away with it etc.)
Validation (validates who you are as a person if you fit in)
Other high emotional content
What are the 5 stages (0-4) of Selman’s friendship model?
0: Momentary Playmates
1: One Way Assistance
2: Fair Weather Cooperation
3: Intimate/Mutually Shared
4: Mature Friendship
Name, site the age and explain stage 0 of Selman’s friendship model.
Momentary Playmates (3-7years)
Friends live close by
Person plays with child at that moment
About having fun
More about specific encounters
Little understanding of enduring relationship
Name, site the age and explain stage 1 of Selman’s friendship model.
One Way Assistance (4-9 years)
- Whats in it for me
- Someone who does nice things for you
- Little thought about what you do for the friend
- Close friend is someone you knkow better than others
Name, site the age and explain stage 2 of Selman’s friendship model.
Fair Weather Cooperation (6-12 years)
- Becoming more reciprocal
- Still focused more on specific incidents and less about enduring relationship
- Concern with fairness
Name, site the age and explain stage 3 of Selman’s friendship model.
Intimate/Mutually Shared (11-15 years)
- Begin to reflect on intimacy and mutuality
- Help each other without keeping score
- Confidant
- Problem solve together
- Inseparable
Name, site the age and explain stage 4 of Selman’s friendship model.
Mature Friendship (12+ years)
- Emotional closeness, trust and support
- Common interests
- Deeper feelings
- Friendships endure even when not in close proximity
What are criticisms of Selman’s stage model of friendship?
1) Stages are not concrete - development can alter depending on the individual
* (friendship heavily socially situated, whats happening in the immediate environment)*
2) Age and stages are not necessarily reliable
According to Selman, in general how do friendships develop?
In general, friendship develops as children are increasingly able to balance intimacy needs as well as autonomy needs
What are typical gender differences in friendships in childhood development?
Activities and expectations tend to differ
Boys: Activity, achievement
Girls: Emotional closeness, self-disclosure
Where is there little difference in male friendships and female friendships?
Amount of conflict reported
Time spent together
What are some age-related changes that occur in regards to friendship with different genders?
Mixed-gender friendships common in pre-school children, re-emerge in adolescents. Less common in primary school aged children.
What are 6 cognitive and social skills developmental benefits of friendship?
1) Understanding and moderating emotion
2) Elaborating and developing ideas
3) Problem solving
4) Enhancing creativity
5) Protective buffer against bullying/teasing
6) Complexity of play
There are long-term benefits of friendships
What can having reciprocated friendships at grade 5 predict?
More success academically and in family and social life at age 23
Lower incidence of problems with the law
Less mental health issues
Greater feelings of self-worth in adulthood
Early friendships make a big difference in later life (doesn’t have to be long lasting friendships, just what they rate as good)
Friendships build resilience.
What are 3 ways in which friendships build resilience?
1) Good quality friendships may compensate for poor family socialisation
2) Friendship may provide a buffer for family stress/breakdown
3) Having a good friend buffers against social ioslation or victimisation
* Research suggests friends are especially useful in times of stress*
What is the difference between friendship and peers?
Friendship = closer circle
Peers = broader circle (from which your friends will normally come)
What are the 4 characteristics of peers?
1) People of approximately same age and status
2) Share many of the same interests, provide validation of characteristics that the group members have in common
3) Provide a sense of belonging
4) Don’t have the same level of emotional closeness, affiliation as friends (still influential in social development)
In early adolescence, how does peer group influence social development?
There is a high value in conforming to group’s norms
e.g. dress, behaviour etc.
As adolescence age, how does that change their social behaviour when in peer groups compared to early adolescence?
They look for more autonomy
Individual relationships increase and importance of peer group decreases
In middle childhood most children become part of a stable friendship group
What 3 things does this provide the child?
1) They share interests with peers
2) Provides validation
3) Provides a sense of belonging
How do peer norms and status present a challenge to friendship?
Changing behaviour to fit in and gain a higher status might damage close friendships.
Especially in boys where intimacy is less of a focus and status is more important.
How do cultural norms play a role in friendships and peer groups?
Childs contact with unrelated peers varies around the world
Norms around intimacy vary around the world
How do we typically define bullying?
Behaviour that is intentionally negative or hurtful to others
An imbalance of power involved
Repeated and unfair attacks
Over or covert (physical, verbal or social, relational)
What are the features of overt bullying?
Direct physical aggression
Hitting, kicking, intimidation, theft, destruction of property
Direct verbal aggression
e.g. name calling, jeering, teasing, threats
What are the 5 features of covert bullying?
Social exclusion and isolation
Rejection
Rumour spreading
‘stealing’ friends
Directed towards damaging self-esteem and/or social status
What does the evidence suggest that frequent bullying/victimisation has on children?
Loss of self-esteem
Psychological problems including loneliness
Absenteeism, poor school performance
What are the 3 types of bully interventions?
School Based Interventions
Individual - for victims
Individual - for bullies
What is a school based bullying intervention?
What is typically the problem with these?
Whole school approaches - anti-bulling policies and management strategies at all levels
Problems: Relatively few properly evaluated
What is the main thing involved with bullying interventions for individual victims?
What are 6 features of this?
Empowerment for victims
1) Understanding a dealing with feelings
2) Recognition and reasons for bullying
3) Building self-esteem
4) Developing confident communication skills
5) Social Supports
6) Management strategies
What are 4 things involved with bullying intervention for bullies?
1) Reactive bullying - attribution re-training
2) Investigation of family factors (e.g. intervention with parents)
3) Modeling social concern, promoting pro-social behaviour
4) Consistent consequences for bullying behaviour
