Early Peer Interaction Peer interaction is present in the first 2 years, but it is limited By 12 months, infants occasionally respond to a peer’s behavior (e.g., smile, gesture, imitate) By age 2, reciprocal play is more common

Preschoolers (2-5 years) Different Types of Play Nonsocial: Watching other children play OR solitary play Parallel: Children play near each other but don’t interact Associative: Children play separately but exchange toys and comment on one another’s behavior Cooperative: Children play with a common goal

Older preschool age children show more interactive play, but also continue to engage in nonsocial and parallel play

Peer Relations in School-Age Children Peer Acceptance: Extent to which a child is viewed as “likable” by peers

Peer Acceptance Categories Popular: Many positive nominations, few negative Rejected: Many negative nominations, few positive Controversial: Many positive and negative nominations Neglected: No positive or negative nominations Average: Few extreme nominations (positive or negative) Assessed using sociometric techniques: Self-report measures that ask peers to evaluate one another’s likability. Usually conducted within a single classroom Peer nominations: Asked to select several peers whom they especially like or dislike; for all possible pairs, indicate preference; rate each peer on a scale Yields 5 categories of children SLIDE

Social Behavior Popular Children: Popular-prosocial Cooperative and friendly with peers Appropriately assertive

Popular-antisocial “Tough” boys with athletic skills Aggressive with peers; defiant with adults Viewed as “cool” by peers

Rejected Children: Rejected-aggressive Severe behavior problems—aggressive; hostile; impulsive More likely to misinterpret the innocent behavior of others as hostile and blame others for their social problems

Rejected-withdrawn Timid, passive Expect peers to treat them poorly More likely to be bullied

Controversial Show positive and negative social behaviors Have as many friends as popular children

Neglected Low rate of social interaction Considered shy by peers As socially skilled as “average” children

Peer Acceptance and Adjustment Rejected children are at highest risk for later problems Associated with poor school performance, dropping out, antisocial behavior, and higher rates of psychological symptoms in adolescence Rejected status tends to be stable over time

Neglected children Usually well-adjusted Don’t report being lonely/unhappy Can interact with others successfully when they want to