Chapter 11: Peers, Play, and Popularity

1. Chapter 11: Peers, Play, and Popularity Popularity By Kati Tumaneng (for Drs. Cook and Cook)

2. Popular and Unpopular Children • Peer nomination technique – Polling technique used to identify categories of popular and unpopular children. Peer Nomination Categories

3. Categories of Popular and Unpopular Children • Popular children – Children whom a large number of peers have chosen as classmates they “like best.” • Friendly, cooperative, sociable, and sensitive to the needs of others (Rubin et al., 1998). • Interact with others, are helpful, and show good leadership skills. • Good communication skills. • Easy and nondisruptive manner when joining activities or new groups (Dodge, Pettit, McClaskey, & Brown, 1986; Putallaz, 1983).

4. Categories of Popular and Unpopular Children • Rejected children – Children who are actively disliked; a large number of peers have chosen them as classmates they “like least.” • Rejected-aggressive (50%) – Physically aggressive and verbally abusive (French, 1988; Rubin et al., 1998) • Relational aggression – Withdrawing friendship or otherwise disrupting or threatening social relationships as a way to hurt other people. Girls more likely to use this. • Rejected-withdrawn (20%) – Withdrawn and timid. • Remaining children fall between the subtypes. Aggression and Peer Rejection: http://www.hec.ohio-state.edu/famlife/bulletin/volume.3/bull26f.htm

5. Categories of Popular and Unpopular Children • Controversial children – Children who receive large numbers of both “like best” and “like least” nominations. • Average children – Children who receive moderate numbers of both “like best” and “like least” nominations. • Neglected children – Children who have very few peers who like them best or least. Social Growth in Children:http://www.lifeway.com/Understanding/Children/print.asp?Notes=N&ArticleID=9

6. A Social Cognition Model of Peer Relations • Social cognition model – A model that explains how different children perceive, interpret, and respond to information in social settings (Crick & Dodge, 1994; Dodge, 1986). • Perceive the information • Interpret the information • Consider potential responses and enact one

7. A Social Cognition Model of Peer Relations • Popular children tend to have positive bias (Rubin et al., 1998). • Rejected children tend to have negative bias. • Positive and negative patterns of social cognition may begin with infant temperament and attachment relationships involved (Rubin et al. 1998). Preventing Another Columbine: http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec01/columbine.html

8. Consequences of Peer Rejection • Rejected children are 7 times more likely to fail a grade in school and nearly 4 times more likely to drop out of school before 10th grade (Kupersmidt & Coie, 1990; Ollendick et al., 1992). • Peer relations are predictive of mental health problems (Mueller & Silverman, 1989). • Rejection linked with violence, delinquency, isolation, and loneliness. • School psychologists, counselors, and other professionals help rejected and neglected children develop the social skill they need.

9. Chart on Slide 2: from Cook, J. L., & Cook, G. (2005). Child development: Principles and perspectives (1st ed.) (p. 451). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. • Picture on Slide 4: from Cook, J. L., & Cook, G. (2005). Child development: Principles and perspectives (1st ed.) (p. 454). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. • All other images retrieved from Microsoft PowerPoint Clip Art.