Peer Relations Flashcards
Age of infants when they start interacting with peers? How do they interact with them?
By about 6 mos; smiling, touching, gesturing, & vocalizing
At what age do children’s interactions start to revolve around toys and are accompanied by fights over toys or displays of affection?
14 mos
When do children start to prefer certain peers over others and what are preferences based on?
Preschool years; preferences usually based on similarity of gender, age, and behavioral tendencies
When do peer interactions increase to point that they spend more time together than with adults?
Elementary school years
What are peer-groups characterized by during elementary school years?
Gender-segregated and choice of friends related to shared activities & reciprocity
What does reciprocity in elementary school-aged children’s friendships mean?
Mutual respect, affection, & loyalty
When do children’s friendships become less gender-segregated? What are they based on more so at this age?
During adolescence; based more on mutual intimacy & self-disclosure (especially for girls) & similarity of interests, attitudes, & values
How does age affect gender differences in the ways children & adolescents relate to their peers?
Differences become more pronounced with increasing age (directly proportional, i.e., increased differences with increased age)
How does Maccoby (1990) describe the female pattern of relating? What does he call it?
Calls it “enabling style”; Serves to increase intimacy and equality between peers and is characterized by expressing agreement, making suggestions, and providing support
What does Maccoby (1990) call the male style of relating? How can it be described?
Calls it “restrictive style”; it tends to interfere with continuing interactions; characteristics include bragging, contradicting, & interrupting
What are the functions of friendships for each gender?
Females = more importance on intimate, emotional aspects of their friendships; males = more interested in sharing activities and interests
What contributes to popularity among peers? Which characteristic stands out as much more important than the others?
Attractiveness, physical size, & maturity (and other physical characteristics); SOCIAL BEHAVIOR seems to be much more important!
Compared to less popular children, more popular children are…
more skilled at initiating & maintaining positive relationships w/peers; more outgoing, communicative, supportive cooperative, and non-punitive; also tend to be more intelligent & successful academically
What are characteristics of rejected children?
More aggressive & show higher levels of disruptiveness, physical aggressiveness, and other negative behaviors (e.g., verbal threats) than popular & average children
How are children who are “rejected from” their peers different from those who are “neglected by” them?
Rejected = more psychological & behavioral problems, e.g., rejected children show wider range of problems (e.g., aggressiveness & other disruptive bxs, feelings of loneliness) than neglected children (e.g., problems related to social isolation); rejected children’s problems more likely to follow them into adulthood; rejected status is more stable over time & settings; rejected children much less likely than neglected children to experience improvement in peer status when they changed peer groups (e.g., changing schools, attending new summer camp)
