Premium
Opposition in Social Interaction amongst Children: Why Intellectual Benefits Do Not Mean Social Costs
Author(s) -
Howe Christine J.,
McWilliam Donna
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1467-9507.2006.00337.x
Subject(s) - aggression , opposition (politics) , psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , temperament , conflict resolution , social relation , personality , sociology , political science , politics , law , social science
Occasions where children oppose each other have been claimed to convey intellectual benefits through their association with justification and resolution. They have been claimed to promote social rejection through their association with aggression. Because it is inconceivable that intellectual benefits imply social costs, either the relation amongst opposition, justification, resolution, and aggression is weaker than claimed, or children differ in their use of justification, resolution, and aggression during opposition. To explore these possibilities, 49 triads, comprising children aged 4 to 7 years, were videotaped while they engaged in free play and structured activities. The children varied in gender and temperament, and the triads varied in gender composition. Justification, resolution, and aggression were all relatively frequent in oppositional contexts. However, the use of justification and resolution during opposition was clearly separated from the use of aggression. Gender, temperament, age, and gender composition of triad were all relevant to the oppositional behaviour that children displayed.