Peer Relationships and Social Skills in Childhood

Peer Relationships and Social Skills in Childhood

Edited by Kenneth H. Rubin Hildy S. Ross

[I] Springer-Verlag New York Heidelberg Berlin

Kenneth H. Rubin Hildy S. Ross Department of Psychology University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3Gl, Canada

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Peer relationships and social skills in childhood.

Includes bibliographies and index. 1. Social skills. 2. Friendship. 3. Age groups. 4. Social interaction. 5.

Child development. 1. Rubin, Kenneth H. II. Ross, Hildy S. HQ783.P43 1982 302.3 82-10550

With 3 Figures

© 1982 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Softcover reprint of the hardc over 1st edition 1982

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ISBN -13:978-1-4613-8182-2 e-ISBN -13: 978-1-4613-8180-8 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4613-8180-8

To our best friends, Margo and Michael

Preface

Amy Rubin, the seven-year-old daughter of one of this volume's editors, was discussing with her close friend Kristin,. her teacher's practice of distributing stickers to her classmates for completing their seat work. As the conversation continued, Joshua, Amy's two-year-old brother (al­though Amy would argue that he more often resembles an albatross around her neck) sauntered up to the older children. He flashed a broad smile, hugged his sister, and then grabbed her book of stickers.

Corey Ross, the nine-year-old son of the other editor was trying to plan a tobogganing party with his friend Claire. The problem facing Corey and Claire was that there were too few toboggans to go around for their grade four classmates. Jordan, Corey's younger brother had agreed to lend his toboggan. However, Harriet, Claire's younger sister and Jordan's close friend had resisted all persuasive attempts to borrow her toboggan. The older children decided that the best strategy was to use Jordan's friendship with Harriet and his good example of sibling generosity in presenting thejr case to Harriet.

Both of these anecdotes exemplify what this volume on peer relation­ships and social skills is about. Children have friends with whom they discuss issues of perceived social significance. During the early elemen­tary school years, rather sophisticated conversations and debates con­cerning topics of reward distribution, altruism, person perception, social status, sibling relations, and cooperation can be overheard (especially by eavesdropping parents who have professional interests in such matters).

Moreover, very early in life, children have social repertoires far more complex than psychologists thought they did in years prior to the 1970s. Joshua, for example, attempted to solve his social problem by "setting up" his older sister. He smiled at and hugged her, knowing full well that she would warm to this social greeting. He then took her prized sticker book which, of course, elicited an unprintable response. Was he thinking that "hug + smile + grab" would lead to a higher probability of success than "grab" alone?

viii Preface

Given both the pervasiveness and the challenging complexity of peer interaction, it is clear why the number of researchers in this field has mUltiplied significantly in the past decade. This volume represents one attempt to capitalize on the fruits of their collective labors. We have compiled contributions from a number of eminent developmental psychologists whose work collectively concerns the study of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, school-aged children, and adolescents as well as several special populations. The topics of their research include a wide variety of social skills and peer relationships, and interestingly, the relations between social skills and relationships are discussed by many of the authors.

We hope that readers of this volume will be stimulated by both the wealth of theoretical insights and empirical observations provided by the authors herein.

Waterloo, Ontario Canada

Kenneth H. Rubin Hildy S. Ross

Contents

Preface ....................................................... vii

Introduction: Some Reflections on the State of the Art: The Study of Peer Relationships and Social Skills ...... 1 Kenneth H. Rubin and Hildy S. Ross

Chapter Organization ..................................... 3 Some Common Themes ................................... 4

Part I. Social Skills ......................................... 9

1. Dyadic Interaction in the First Year of Life Dale F. Hay, Jan Pedersen, and Alison Nash

11

Analyses of Influence Between Infant Peers ................ 12 Constraints on Early Peer Interaction ..................... 25 Conclusions .............................................. 36

2. The Toddler's Emerging Interactive Skills .............. 41 Carol O. Eckerman and Mark R. Stein

The Concept oflnteractive Skills .......................... 44 Interactive Skills and Cooperative Play .................... 47 Discovering and Assessing the Toddler's Interactive Skills .. 52 Evaluation ............................................... 68

3. Toddler-Peer Communication.......................... 73 Hildy S. Ross, Susan P. Lollis, and Connie Elliott

Definition of Communication .............................. 75 Method .................................................. 77 Communicative Overtures ................................ 80

x Contents

Responses to Communicative Acts ......................... 85 Interpersonal Influence in Communication ................. 89 Conclusions .............................................. 92

4. Social Rules Governing Object Conflicts in Toddlers and Preschoolers ....................................... 99 Roger Bakeman and John R. Brownlee

Method .................................................. 101 Results .................................................. 102 Discussion ............................................... 107

5. An Observational Study of Social Problem Solving in Young Children ......................................... 113 Linda Rose Krasnor

Sensitivity to Social Task Features ........................ 115 Method .................................................. 117 Results .................................................. 121 Discussion ............................................... 126

6. Peers and Prosocial Development ...................... 133 Carolyn Zahn-Waxler, Ronald Iannotti, and Michael Chapman

Development of Altruism ................................. 134 The Role of Peers in Eliciting Altruism .................... 141 Internal Mediators of Altruism ............................ 148 Peers and Socialization ................................... 153 Conclusions .............................................. 157

7. A Structural Approach to Research on the Development of Interpersonal Behavior Among Grade School Children ................................. 163 Carolyn R. Stone and Robert L. Selman

A Model for the Development of Interpersonal Behavior ..... 164 Field Study .............................................. 168 Social Negotiation Strategies .............................. 169 Qualitative Results: The Contrast Between High Understanding and Demonstrated Interactional Competence .............................................. 176 Quantitative Results ..................................... 179 Conclusions .............................................. 181

Contents xi

Part II. Peer Relationships .................................. 185

8. Social Interaction in the First Year: Infants' Social Skills with Peers versus Mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 187 Deborah Lowe Yandell and Kathy Shores Wilson

Early Social Development ................................. 188 Catalogue of Infant Social Skills ........................... 189 Social Skills Examined in this Project ..................... 193 Social Skills Demonstrated in Infant-Infant and Infant-Mother Interactions ................................ 196 Social Skill Defined as Differential Social Ability ........... 200 Intersystem Relationships During the First Year ........... 203 Experiences with Peers and Siblings as a Source of Individual Differences in Infant Social Skills ............... 204

9. Social Relations Among Children: Comparison of Sibling and Peer Interaction ............................ 209 Debra Pepler, Carl Corter, and Rona Abramovitch

Sibling Interaction ....................................... 210 Sibling Versus Peer Interaction ........................... 214 Influence of Sibling Interaction on Peer Interaction ......... 220 Conclusions .............................................. 224

10. Friends, Acquaintances, and Strangers: The Influence of Familiarity and Ethnolinguistic Background on Social Interaction ....................................... 229 Anna-Beth Doyle

Studies of Social Interaction in Acquainted vs. Unacquainted Peers ...................................... 230 Friends and Acquaintances: The Influence of Ethnolinguistic Status on Social Behaviors ................. 239 Implications for Future Research and Educational Policy .... 248

11. Fairness and Friendship ................................ 253 Thomas J. Berndt

Developmental Research on Distributive Justice ............ 254 A Social-Psychological Perspective on Fairness ............. 263 Developments in Friendship and in Fairness ............... 265 Conclusions .............................................. 273

12. Social Development Through Friendship ............... 279 Jacqueline Smollar and James Youniss

xii Contents

Development of Concepts of Friendship .................... 281 Implications for Social Development ....................... 292 Individuality and Social Cohesion ......................... 295

Part III. Individual Differences in Peer Relationships and Social Skills ................................................. 299

13. Toward an Applied Social Ethology: A Case Study of Social Skills Among Blind Children ..................... 301 Henry Markovits and F. F. Strayer

Ethology and Social Development ......................... 301 Social Ethology and Atypical Children ..................... 307 Social Functioning of Blind Preschool Children ............. 309 General Discussion ....................................... 318

14. Peer Relationships of Young Children with Behavior Problems ............................................... 323 Susan B. Campbell and Patricia Cluss

Theoretical Perspectives: Peer Relations and Child Deviance.. 323 Hyperactivity ............................................ 326 Activity Level in Preschoolers: Correlates and Continuity ... 331 Studies of Peer Relations in Clinical Groups ................ 333 Results .................................................. 339 Discussion ............................................... 343

15. Social and Social-Cognitive Developmental Characteristics of Young Isolate, Normal, and Sociable Children ................................................. 353 Kenneth H. Rubin

Targeting Socially Withdrawn Children .................... 355 Observed Classroom Differences Among the Three Groups .. 358 Test Re:;mlt Differences Among the Three Groups ........... 362 Dyadic Play of Targeted Preschoolers ...................... 366 Conclusions .............................................. 369

16. Social Competence and Peer Status: The Distinction Between Goals and Strategies .......................... 375 Peter D. Renshaw and Steven R. Asher

Social Skill Basis of Sociometric Status .................... 376 Children's Goals for Social Interaction ..................... 386 A Study of Children's Goals and Strategies ................. 389 Conclusions .............................................. 392

Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 397

Subject Index ............................................. 409

Contributors

Rona Abramovitch, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto in Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada

Steven R. Asher, Bureau of Education Research, College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, U.S.A.

Roger Bakeman, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, U.S.A.

Thomas J. Berndt, Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, U.S.A.

John R. Brownlee, Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, U.S.A.

SusanB. Campbell, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, U.S.A.

Michael Chapman, Laboratory of Developmental Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Mary­land 20205, U.S.A.

Patricia Cluss, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, U.S.A.

Carl Corter, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto in Missis­sauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada

Anna-Beth Doyle, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada

xiv Contributors

Carol O. Eckerman, Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27706, U.S.A.

Connie Elliott, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Wa­terloo, Ontario N2L 3G 1, Canada

Dale F. Hay, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794, U.S.A.

Ronald Iannotti, Laboratory of Developmental Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Mary­land 20205, U.S.A.

Linda Rose Krasnor, Child Studies Program, Brock University, St. Catherines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada

Susan P. Lollis, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

Henry Markovits, Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3P8 Canada

Alison Nash, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794, U.S.A.

Jan Pedersen, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794, U.S.A.

Debra Pepler, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto in Missis­sauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada

Peter D. Renshaw, Riverina College of Advanced Education, School of Education, P.O. Box 588, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650, Australia

Hildy S. Ross, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Wa­terloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

Kenneth H. Rubin, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

Robert L. Selman, Laboratory of Human Development, Harvard Univer­sity, Larson Hall, Appian Way, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, U.s.A.

Contributors xv

Jacqueline Smollar, Department of Psychology, Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Avenue N.E., Washington, D.C. 20064, U.s.A.

Mark R. Stein, Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27706, U.S.A.

Carolyn R. Stone, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Longfellow Hall, Appian Way, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, U.S.A.

F. F. Strayer, Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3P8, Canada

Deborah Lowe Yandell, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Dallas, P.O. Box 688, Richardson, Texas 75080, U.S.A.

Kathy Shores Wilson, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Dallas, P.O. Box 688, Richardson, Texas 75080, U.S.A.

James Youniss, Department of Psychology, Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Avenue N.E., Washington, D.C. 20064, U.S.A.

Carolyn Zahn-Waxler, Laboratory of Developmental Psychology, N a­tional Institute of Mental Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20205, U.S.A.