friendship lecture

Question 1

what kind of relationship is there between peers?

Answer 1

horizontal: no power difference

Question 2

functions of peer relations

Answer 2

• play companions
• role models
• instruction and criticism
• social comparison (can be good or bad)
• confide in them
• emotional support

Question 3

piaget and vygotsky feelings toward peer relationships

Answer 3

piaget: thought they were important for development

vygotsky: thought it was better to have older peers

Question 4

how do peer relations evolve over time

Answer 4

• more interaction with peers at younger ages (daycare and preschool)
• increase online friends with age
• over half ages 13-17 have at least one online friend
• only 20% actually met online friend
• long distance friendships aren’t new (pen pals)

Question 5

sim and dif between internet friends and pen pals

Answer 5

pen pals: take time to write a letter, more depth, meaningful, not as spontaneous

Question 6

effect of towns and cities on friendships

Answer 6

not conducive to child interactions; unsafe for them to roam around without parents in USA

Question 7

Use of internet for friendships during covid

Answer 7

83% teens reported using internet to maintain contact

Question 8

development of peer relations 0-2 yrs

Answer 8

• increase social interaction with age
• 6-12 months: interest in peers emerges early, smile and gesture at other babies
• 18-24 mo: coordinated interactions, imitation, start to assume complementary roles

Question 9

development of peer relations, preschool age, 2-5 yrs

Answer 9

• increase complexity and reciprocity of interactions
• social and nonsocial play

Question 10

development of peer relations, elementary school age

Answer 10

• more cooperative and complex play: games with formal and socially constructed rules, learn social agreement, emergence of true peer groups (interact regularly, informal organization/hierarchy - may emerge earlier with more daycare/preschool)

Question 11

development of peer relations, adolescence

Answer 11

• sharp increase in time spent with peers
• emergence of cliques: small groups of friends with more formal structures, organized around perceived similarities, more peer pressure, conformity peaks in adolescence, provides sense of identity
• crowds: large reference groups that are loosely organized but have similar characteristics

Question 12

nonsocial play 3 types

Answer 12

• unoccupied: briefly watch some event
• onlooker play: watch others play, without engaging with them
• solitary play: engage in own activity (first seen around 6mo, common before 2.5yr, focus on exploring objects, can involve pretense/pretend)

Question 13

social play 3 types

Answer 13

• parallel: engage in similar activity but does not interact (common between 2-4yr, still occurs later)
• associative play: play with others in same activity but no shared goal (main purpose is to interact with someone else, common 3-5yr, low structure and no common goal, socializing is important, often involves dramatic play)
• cooperative play: engaged in common activity with shared goal (examples: building tall tower together, playing restaurant; common in 4+yr, goal is not necessarily to win)

Question 14

other types of play

Answer 14

• competitive: more common 5+yr, more organized, emphasize winning, society is trying to introduce at younger age

Question 15

cohort effects on play

Answer 15

• more daycare and preschool now –> less cross-sectional interactions with peers (different ages interacting)
• cultural/contextual differences –> unsure; most studies done in USA
• amount of time with parents/peers

Question 16

importance of play

Answer 16

• essential part of development
• active physical play promotes emotion regulation/increase pos emotions
• higher situational emotional knowledge (can take more perspectives)
• if unstructured, kids will play with whatever is available
• build resilience and creativity

Question 17

choosing friends

Answer 17

• choose people who behave pro-socially
• with similar interests, behavior, cognitive maturity, cooperativeness
• similar levels of negative emotions
• close proximity
• similar/shared activities

Question 18

measuring peer acceptance via 2 sociometric measure techniques

Answer 18

1) nominations technique: pos nominations and neg nominations (who do you like most/least)

2) rating scale technique: used with older kids; rate everyone on “likability” scale

Question 19

peer acceptance categories (by # nominations)

Answer 19

• popular: many pos, few neg
• rejected: many neg, few pos
• controversial: many neg, many pos (rare - bullies or high status and mean)
• neglected: few pos and few neg
• average, moderate, few extreme ratings

Question 20

social skills and behaviors of sociometric categories

Answer 20

• popular: friendly, cooperative, pro social, not aggressive or withdrawn, successful at initiating and maintaining interactions, good theory of mind and understands others’ and own motivations well, resolve conflicts easily
• rejected: aggressive, disruptive, bossy, uncooperative, anxious, withdrawn, critical of peers, poor resolution skills

more lonely, depressed, socially anxious, most worrisome group; at risk for dropping out, truancy, low self-esteem, antisocial behavior

• controversial: mixed behaviors, prosocial towards some kids, disruptive towards others
• neglected: withdrawn, interests different from peers, make few attempts to enter groups, shy, don’t want to draw attention to self

Question 21

correlates of peer acceptance

Answer 21

• parenting: secure attachment and authoritative parenting
• physical attractiveness
• cognitive skills: perspective taking and academic competence
• social skills (example - Doge): STRONGEST PREDICTOR of peer relations

Question 22

friendship quality

Answer 22

• intimacy: sharing personal info, valued more by girls
• help and guidance
• companionship: time spent together, valued by boys
• rejected children have lower quality friendships

Question 23

bullying

Answer 23

• distinct type of proactive aggression
• power imbalance
• repeated situations
• concern is growing

Question 24

how common is bullying

Answer 24

varies depending on how it is measured, and defined (persistent or one-time occurrence)

Question 25

frequency of bullying

Answer 25

- increases during childhood, peaks in early adolescence, decreased victimization with age

Question 26

type of bullying vs gender

Answer 26

boys: more physical aggression girls: more verbal and relational aggression

Question 27

why are there individual differences in aggression

Answer 27

- social cognitive distortions: how the child interprets the situation - enviro/social context: family, society, media

Question 28

role of family in bullying

Answer 28

- discipline techniques - power assertion and inconsistency both lead to high aggression - coercive family systems (Patterson): anger, threats, harsh punishment spreads between family members parenting style - parental depression and conflict

Question 29

correlations between bullying and victimization

Answer 29

- self esteem victim: low, not assertive, socially isolated bully: unclear - normative beliefs endorsing aggression --> leads to more aggression bullies: view bullying as positive victims: not clear, but if less likely to report aggression if they endorse it - school characteristics neg school climate --> low support for academic progress, distrust between students and teachers - school performance and engagement bullies: worse performance victims: disengaged, less socially adept, more isolated

Question 30

Guerra, williams, sadek 2011

Answer 30

mixed method longitudinal study - 3yr study colorado schools, 2678 kids (all ages), focus groups with 115 other kids - found physical, direct and indirect verbal, and bystander bullying - surveyed self esteem, normative aggression, school climate bullying and victimization - predicted by low self-esteem, normative bullying, and poor school climate for both genders focus groups - bullying in adolescence linked to popularity and sexuality - boys want to improve status, appear as desirable mates, lower status of certain girls - girls want to enhance phys and sex appeal to improve social status, limit competition - both genders say bullying is entertaining implications: - make a positive school climate - change the normative beliefs about aggression - build healthy self esteem - address sexual nature of bullying - prevention at multiple levels (individual, classroom, school)

Question 31

should there be a federal law for bullying

Answer 31

- need to define what bullying really is and how to deal with it when we see it

Question 32

is bullying in sports ok?

Answer 32

more fights, less attendance

Question 33

long term efects of bullying

Answer 33

- health, wealth, crime, social outcomes

Question 34

great smoky mountain study

Answer 34

accelerated longitudinal n=1273 - original sample: 3 cohorts, 9yr, 11yr, 13yr - annual assessment until 16yr, then at 19, 21, 24, 26 - measure health and wellbeing - involved in bullying --> predicts neg outcomes for health, finances, behavior, social