peer groups Flashcards
describe what constitutes a “peer”, and evidence that the peer group becomes increasingly importance during adolescence
- a peer is a familiar other that is roughly the same age
- 1/2 of american adolescents’ waking hours are spent with peers
- youth are happiest with peers
describe patterns in the stability of friendships during adolescence, including factors that contribute to their dissolution
- friendships show moderate stability, which increases during later high school
- greater stability in: same-sex friendships, all-male friendships, and friendships of well-adjusted people
- friendship dissolution: jealousy (romantic or other), incompatibility, violations of intimacy (sharing secrets), or aggression
explain changes in peer group structure and functioning in adolescence relative to childhood
- function more often without adult supervision
- include more cross-sex contact
- time spent with larger groups
- friendships are more based on reputation rather than interaction
explain the formation, structure, and function of cliques and crowds
- cliques: small, 2-10 individuals, defined by common activities or friendship
- crowds: larger, more vaguely defined, based on reputation, subject to stereotypes and unwilling membership, establish social norms by being a reference group, reinforce conformity, over time become more differentiated and permeable
describe the principle of homophily and the distinction between selection and socialization effects, including specific examples of what selection and socialization effects have been established in peer groups
- principle of homophily: we tend to associate with familiar others
- selection effects: choosing friends based on shared characteristics (sports, classes, clubs, hobbies, etc)
- socialization effects: characteristics becoming more similar between friends (behaviors, habits, etc)
- effects in peer groups on: happiness, substance abuse, delinquency, bullying, personal health, academic motivation
explain the concept of deviancy training and its implications for behavioral interventions
- peers reinforcing deviant behaviors, increasing such behaviors
- implications for behavioral interventions: in and out of school suspensions takes learning out of the traditional contexts, which reinforces the behaviors; suggests that such programs so the reverse of the intention
describe the sociometric method of assessment, what it tells you, and the categories of adolescents in peer groups that can be established in this approach
- measurement that reflects the degree to which children are liked or disliked by peers
- can look at who scores high on any individual measure, or categorize into groups
- popular (accepted)
- rejected
- neglected
- average (controversial)
- may not be a sign of popularity
understand the consequences of peer rejection and acceptance, and how outcomes may differ based on “type” of rejected youth
- acceptance related to heightened emotional, social, and academic functioning, buffers against adversity
- rejection related to current and future problems, depends on type of rejected adolescent
- those with reactive aggression and emotion regulation problems
- those who are withdrawn, shy, anxious
describe the distinction between the two forms of popularity, and how they are differently correlated with various aspects of peer group functioning
- sociometric: refers to how well-liked someone is
- perceived: refers to reputation, how much status or prestige someone has
- affects self-esteem
explain each of the discussed peer-group behaviors (social withdrawal, prosociality, and forms and functions of aggression), and how these are related to peer status
- social behaviors can be thought of as moving away from, against, or towards the world
- social withdrawal: tendency to separate socially
- prosocial: acts that benefit others
- aggression: behaving in a way that hurts others; direct or relational
- functions: instrumental (gain) or reactive
- affects likeability and sociability
explain the evidence for gender differences in physical and relational forms of aggression
- physical & direct aggression is higher in males
- girls are hurt more by relational aggression, do it more, more impactful
describe factors that can contribute to peer group aggression using a social information processing model perspective (social motivations and hostile attribution bias)
- social motivations: underlie behaviors, desire to have control/power over others
- hostile attribution: tendency to interpret others’ behaviors as hostile (related to high reactive aggression, drives rejection, aggression-rejection feedback loop)
define bullying, describe how it is different from aggression, why it’s important to recognize this distinction, and the level of success of efforts aimed at reducing bullying
- repeated systematic efforts to inflict harm on a weaker person
- intentional, repeated, power difference
- bullying does not stem from a deficit
- most promising research focuses on bystanders (modifying social norms, encouraging protective friendships, addressing school and parental factors)
