Learning outcome: By the end of this 25 minutes you will be able to discuss a strength and a limitation of using qualitative methods to study children’s friendships

Starter: What is strange about these pictures?

Erwin (1998) Before 2 years, interaction between children tends to be in twosomes or pairs, with little evidence of same sex preference. However, even before the concepts of 'boy' and 'girl' are properly developed, children start to prefer the company of their own sex and by 3 or 4 years play mostly in same sex groups. Erwin suggested that this separation might occur because boys and girls prefer different sorts of activities- for example boys engage in much more rough tumble play. By 5 years of age boys show greater same sex preference than girls and by the age of 11 or 12 groups become very important and sex segregation is almost complete.

Aim- to investigate social networks in 10 year old boys and girls Method - Benenson asked 10 year old children to rate their peers using friendship and play rating scales. The children were also asked to describe their peers using open ended questions. Benenson (1990) Results - Boys were found to have more extensive social networks of interconnected friendships, whereas girls friendships were based on small, more intimate groups of ' cliques'.Benenson also noted that, in interviews, boys tended to focus on attributes that were important for two-person or small- groom relationships. No differences were found in the number of best friends reported by boys and girls. Conclusion- Boys and girls have different types of social networks and have different ideas about the attributes that are important for friendship.

Lever (1976) Aim- investigated sex difference in friendship attitudes and friendship behaviours Method -10 year old boys and girls in American city and suburban schools were interviewed about their attitudes towards fiends and their interactions with friends and thief interaction with friends. Several sex differences emerged: girls were more comfortable with single best friend, being less likely than boys to admit a third person into a friendship. girls openly showed affection- for example, by handholding and writing notes- whereas such was rarely seen in boys girls were more sensitive to the fragility of the intimate relationship, worrying more about falling out with a friend. girls shared personal intimacies, whereas boys shared group secrets and information about group strategy or rules girls were more likely to be jealous of a third party than boys. Conclusion: girls are more emotionally involved with friends and prefer more intimate two person relationships, whereas boys' friendships are more open.

Waldrop and Halverson (1975) Waldrop and Halverson have described boys' and girls' peer relationships as extensive (boys ) and intensive ( girls). For boys, most time is spent in the larger group with the focus on shared activities or tasks. Boys view the friendship group as a collective entity and value it's solidarity. Girls relationships are described as intensive because they view the group as a network of intimate two person friendships, with the focus on closeness and sharing of emotion rather than joint activities.

Douvan and Adelson (1966) Douvan and Adelson suggested that boys need group support the quest for autonomy and defy authority, whilst girls are not as defiant and do not need to focus on the group as a source of strength.

Benenson & Christakos (2003) Aim – to investigate sex differences in young people's friendships Method- 60 Girls and 6o boys aged between 10 and 15 were interviewed about their closest same- sex friendships. Results- several differences were noted: Girls' friendships lasted for a shorter time than boys'; girls were more upset at the thought of the friendship ending than boys; girls were more likely than boys to recognise that they had already done something that could have prejudiced their friendship; girls reported having had more 'best friends' in the past than boys Conclusion- several differences were noted: Girls' friendships lasted for a shorter time than boys'; girls were more upset at the thought of the friendship ending than boys; girls were more likely than boys to recognise that they had already done something that could have prejudiced their friendship; girls reported having had more 'best friends' in the past than boys

Evaluation : the male preference for larger groups can be explained from the biological and evolutionary perspective in psychology; for makes the large group offers a means of fulfilling the need to compete within the dominate hierarchy. Viewing social behaviour from this perspective might also explain why females prefer quieter activities using fried a as a source of individual support thus fulfilling the need to nurture and are traditional behaviourists would argue that sex differences in friendships occur because of operant conditioning. Males and females are reinforced for what is seen as sex appropriate behaviour, so girls are encouraged to play quietly in twos and boys to play competitively in groups. social learning theorists would suggest that boys and girls are simply copying the behaviour of adult models.

Halle (1999) Aim - to investigate the way in which friendship and gender would influence the choice of a social partner. Method - one hundred and twenty -two children aged between four and eight years were asked with whom an imaginary child would choose to be in relation to a range of situations. The choices involved same- and opposite sex peers; friends and an unfamiliar peer; same- sex unfamiliar peers and opposite- sex friends. Results -children, especially girl and younger children, tended to choose same sex- partners. Conclusion-children's choices in an abstract reasoning task appear to be similar to the choices that they make in real situations. Evaluation - the findings indicate that children carry out activities with same- sex friends.

Rose and Rudolf (2006) reviewed over 300 studies that made comparisons between the relationship of boys and girls from pre-school to adolescence; their main conclusions are bellow: - by 5 boys tend to play rough and in large groups when older they engage in more sports. Boys focus more on presenting themselves on the group and on their place in the hierarchy of the peer group. The pressures and stresses from peers are likely to be in connection to others. The pressures and stresses they feel from peers involve difficulties terms of verbal or physical victimisation. - in contrast girls have longer social interaction with one other individual. Girls are more concerned about their friendships, have more empathy and more concerns about helping and with others or problems about social intersection and friendships ( e.g.: someone stopping talking to you, not having as many friends as you want )

Task -You have 6 minutes Briefly discuss one strength or one limitation of using qualitative methods to study friendships. Refer to evidence in your answer.