Peers Flashcards
What is a peer?
one that is of equal standing with another; social equals; operating at similar levels of behavioral complexity
True or False:
A toddler and a 6 year-old are peers.
False
Age difference is a big deal at this age; they are not social equals and there is lots of deviation between the two
What kinds of equal status interactions can peers provide?
- feedback and practice in role taking skills
- growth promoting conflicts of viewpoint
- practice in compromise
- emotional security
- training for later romantic relationships
What is sociability?
one’s willingness to engage with others in social interaction and to seek their attention and approval
What is the timeline of sociability within infancy and toddlerhood?
- 6 months: bit of interactions with peers (babbling, toy offering)
- 1 year: taking turns
- 18 months: coordinated interactions (i.e. imitation)
- 2 years: complementary roles (i.e. tag)
What are the three non-social play types?
- unoccupied
- solitary
- onlooker
What does unoccupied play look like?
- random, unpurposeful movement
- may be standing in one spot or observing something in the environment
What does solitary play look like?
non-random movements with directed course of action
What does onlooker play look like?
observes other kids playing
finding out what it’s like to socialize
What are the three forms of social play within early childhood?
- parallel play
- associative play
- cooperative play
What does parallel play look like?
child plays independently at the same activity as other children
What does associative play look like?
child still focused on a separate activity but acknowledging the others’ actions (i.e. imitation, sharing/lending, helping, taking turns)
What does cooperative play look like?
children organize their play and/or activity cooperatively with a common goal; differentiate and assign roles
What is peer acceptance?
measure of person’s likability in the eyes of peers
How is peer acceptance measured?
ask children who they like/dislike in their class and with whom they want to be friends
What are the five sociometric categories?
- popular
- rejected
- neglected
- average
- controversial
What is the popular peer status?
children who are viewed positively by many peers and viewed negatively by few peers
What kind of characteristics do children with popular peer status have?
- skilled at initiating interactions with peers and maintaining positive relationships
- cooperative, friendly, sociable, sensitive to others
- well regulated, unihibited
- tend to be less aggressive
What is the difference between children who are popular sociometrically and children who are popular as perceived by peers?
sociometric: kind
peer-labeled: use relational aggression to hurt others
What is the rejected peer status?
children who are liked by few peers and disliked by many peers
What two kinds of characteristics do children with rejected peer status have?
- aggressive-rejected
- withdrawn-rejected
What characterizes aggressive-rejected children?
- prone to hostile and threatening behavior, physical aggression, disruptive behavior, and delinquency
- hostile attribution: likely to attribute hostile motives to others in negative social situations
- aggressive behavior often underlies rejection by peers
- develop a network of aggressive friends
What characterizes withdrawn-rejected children?
- socially withdrawn, wary, timid
- withdrawn behavior combined with negative actions or emotions
Where does internalized low self-esteem and low sociability come from?
attachment
–> teaches you your worth
What are mediators of long-term effects of peer rejection?
- alliance with deviant peer groups
- elevated stress (dominance hierarchy shows that people expressing most stress are recognized as targets for aggression)
- lack of social support from peers or teachers
- lack of opportunities to develop effective social skills
- low self esteem
What kinds of resources are available to help assist rejected children?
- social skills training
- changing faulty social perception (i.e. hostile attribution bias)
What is the neglected peer status?
children who are infrequently mentioned as liked or disliked
appear neglected primarily because they are not noticed
What is the controversial peer status?
children who are liked by quite a few peers and disliked by quite a few others
What kind of characteristics do controversial children show?
- characteristics of both popular and rejected children
- arrogant and snobbish
- high intensity, low regulation
Over a short period of time:
The status of popular or neglected children ____.
The status of neglected or controversial children ____.
remains stable;
changes
Over a long period of time:
The sociometric stability of neglected children is generally ____ than for popular, neglected, or controversial children.
higher
True or False:
The major predictors of popularity change substantially with age.
False
They do not change with age
True or False:
Although aggression is a predictor of rejection in childhood, overt aggression appears to play a less important role in peer rejection in adolescence
True
True or False:
Aggressive behavior seems to become a more important predictor of peer rejection with increasing age in childhood
False
Withdrawn behavior is a more important predictor with age
True or False:
Adolescents spend more time with peers and have emotional distance from parents.
True
What two brain structures affect adolescents’ cognition and decision making?
- prefrontal cortex
- ventral striatum (the reward circuit)
True or False:
During adolescence, the prefrontal cortex is hypersensitized and the reward circuit is still under construction
False
During adolescence, the prefrontal cortex is still under construction and the reward circuit is hypersensitized
What is “the perfect storm” of the adolescent brain?
- decreased self control
- increased sensitivity to pleasure
- possibility of reward to take risk + willing to take that risk –> more risky behaviors
What study showed how being around peers in adolescence influenced decision making?
- teenagers brought in to do driving game where the fastest to finish wins
- risky behavior = running red light
- alone: adolescents, young adults, and adults all behaved the same
- with a peer: adolescents’ risky behavior increased greatly
How do peers affect adolescents’ brain activity?
friends trigger reward circuitry
* big dopamine activation for adolescents when engaging in risky behavior with peers
True or False:
Adolescents and adults engage in similar prefrontal regulatory circuitry.
False
Adolescents do not engage in regulatory prefrontal circuitry like adults do
