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Children's Friends and Behavioral Similarity in Two Social Contexts
Author(s) -
Poulin François,
Cillessen Antonius H. N.,
Hubbard Julie A.,
Coie John D.,
Dodge Kenneth A.,
Schwartz David
Publication year - 1997
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 - 10.1111/j.1467-9507.1997.tb00103.x
Subject(s) - aggression , psychology , similarity (geometry) , developmental psychology , peer group , peer relations , social psychology , sociometric status , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics)
The general purpose of this study was to examine similarity between friends with respect to behavior. The specific goals were to consider; 1) different sources of evaluation (peer ratings and direct observations); 2) different social contexts (classroom and play group); and 3) different subtypes of aggressive behavior (proactive and reactive aggression). In the first phase of the study, sociometric assessments and peer evaluations of behavior were conducted in the school setting with third‐grade boys and girls (n ‐ 268). In the second phase, a subsample of boys participated in a series of play group sessions (n = 66). Direct observations and peer ratings of children's behavior were conducted in those sessions. Results showed in both social contexts a tendency towards similarity among friends, especially with respect to aggressive behavior. Separate analyses for subtypes of aggressive behavior revealed that the similarity hypothesis applied for proactive aggression but not for reactive aggression.